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T. NELSON AND SONS. LONDON I 



THE 



NORTHERN COASTS OF AMERICA, 



THE HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORIES 






A NARRATIVE OF DISCOVERY AND ADVENTURE. 






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PREFACE. 



The progress of Discovery lias ever been regarded with 
the deepest interest by mankind. Whether viewed with 
reference to its bearing upon the commercial interests of 
nations, its valuable additions to the acquisitions of science, 
or regarded as bringing to light many of the hidden 
wonders with which the Great and Good Creator has so 
plentifully stored our world, it is fraught with interest and 
instruction. Among the various Expeditions of Discovery 
by land and sea, none have claimed our attention or 
enlisted our sympathies more powerfully than those into 
the Arctic Regions. Nowhere has the navigator to con- 
tend with difficulties so formidable; nowhere is nature 
presented more vividly under so terrific and beautiful an 
aspect — now howling in the fury of elemental strife, and 
anon reposing in all the fairy-like brilliancy peculiar to 
the icy oceans of the north; and nowhere has been more 
strikingly exemplified at once the power and the impotency 
of man. In the volume of this series entitled Polar Seas 
and Regions, full and interesting details are given of the 



IV PREFACE. 

various expeditions by sea to these frozen regions. But 
before we could be said to have obtained a complete view 
of the efforts made to explore the extreme north by the 
nations of Europe, there remained to be completed another 
branch of adventure, equally arduous, and more varied in 
character. "We allude to the expeditions undertaken, 
partly by land and partly by lake and river navigation, to 
trace the Northern Coasts of America. This desideratum 
the present volume will supply, and in combination with 
the work alluded to, will be found to give a complete 
account of the whole series of Northern Discoveries by 
land and water, from the earliest period down to the pre- 
sent time. 

The beautiful and romantic scenery through which the 
successive adventurers passed, the wild uncultivated natives 
with whom they came into contact, the manifold dangers 
they encountered among the lakes and foaming cataracts, 
and the stirring rencontres they frequently had with the 
ferocious animals that inhabit the North American wil- 
derness, form a large portion of the following pages. 




NELSON AND SONS LONDON AND EDINBURC 



PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY 



NORTHERN COASTS OF AMERICA. 



CHAPTER I. 



Discovery of North America — Early Voyages of the Portuguese, 
French, and Spaniards. 

First Discovery of North America by John Cabot — Yoyages of Sebas- 
tian Cabot — Of the Cortereals — Discovery of Labrador — French Dis- 
coveries — Voyages of Verazzano — Of Jacques Cartier — Discovery of 
Canada — Spanish Voyages of Discovery — Cortes — Ulloa — Alarchon 
— Viscaino. 

When we peruse the lives of such men as De Gama and 
Columbus, and consider the complicated difficulties over- 
come by these early navigators, their imperfect means, and 
the dark and defective state of their knowledge, it is diffi- 
cult to repress astonishment at the success which attended 
their exertions, and the magnitude and splendour of their 
discoveries. In reflecting, indeed, upon so great a theme 
as the revelation of a new world, it becomes us to raise our 
minds from the region of second causes to the awful con- 
templation of that Almighty Being, who confounds the cal- 
culations of man by bringing stupendous results out of the 
feeblest human preparations; and it is one of the finest 
features in the character of Columbus, that he invariably 



2 COLUMBUS. [1493. 

acted under the conviction of being selected by God for the 
task which he at length accomplished ; but the admiration 
with which we regard this great man — and that belongs, 
though in an inferior degree, to many of his contempora- 
ries in the field of discovery — is enhanced rather than dimi- 
nished by this union of simple and primitive faith with 
ardent genius and undaunted resolution. 

A former volume* has been devoted to the description of 
the daring efforts which have been made to explore the 
Polar Seas ; and we now proceed to direct our attention to 
another, and a no less interesting and important chapter in 
the history of human enterprise — the discovery of North 
America, and the progress of maritime adventure on the 
more northern coasts of this vast continent. Without de- 
tracting in any degree from the fame of Columbus, it may 
be mentioned as a remarkable circumstance, that although 
the admiral landed in Hispaniola as early as the 4th of 
February 1493, he did not ascertain the existence of the 
continent of South America till the 30th of May 1498 ; 
whilst there is certain evidence that, almost a year before, 
an English vessel had reached the shores of North Ame- 
rica. As much obscurity hangs over the circumstances of 
this early voyage, and as I have arrived at a conclusion 
completely at variance with that adopted by a late acute 
writer,-)- it will be necessary to dwell with some minuteness 
on the history of this great event. 



* Discovery and Adventure in the Polar Seas and Regions, by Sir 
John Leslie, &c. London, 1853. 

-j- The author of the Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, pp. 50, 51, an anony- 
mous work (London, 1831), which contains much ingenious criticism 
and valuable research. It is, however, unhappily confused in its arrange- 
ment, and written throughout in a tone of asperity which, in the discus- 
sion of a subject of remote biography, is unpleasant and uncalled for. 
The author has been unjustly severe in his animadversions on the labours 
of Hakluyt, of whom a brief Vindication will be found at the end of 
th'i3 volumo. 



1494.} JOHN CABOT AND HENRY VII. 3 

The attention paid to navigation by the commercial states 
of Italy, and especially by the republics of Genoa and 
Venice, is familiar to all acquainted with the history of 
Europe during the fifteenth century. Italian merchants and 
agents of opulent commercial houses were found settled in 
every European state ; and the impetus communicated to 
the human mind by the discoveries of the Portuguese and 
the Spaniards rendered the sciences of cosmography and 
navigation the most popular subjects of instruction which 
were taught in the schools. A devotion to them became 
fashionable among the noble and ardent youths, who asso- 
ciated with them all that was romantic and delightful; 
they were considered as the certain guides to daring and 
successful maritime adventure, and the handmaids to wealth 
and fame. It was about this momentous period, in the 
year 1494, that we find a Venetian, named John Cabot, or 
Gabota, residing in the opulent city of Bristol. At what 
precise time he settled in England is not now discoverable; 
we only know that he left Italy for the purpose of devot- 
ing himself to the mercantile profession. He was one of 
those enthusiastic spirits upon whom the career of Colum- 
bus made a deep impression ; and about a year after the 
return of the great Genoese from his first voyage, the 
merchant of Bristol appears to have embraced the idea 
that new lands might be discovered in the north-west, 
and a passage in all probability attained by this course to 
India.* Animated by such a project, Cabot addressed him- 
self to Henry VII., and found immediate encouragement 
from that monarch, who, though of a cold and cautious dis- 
position, was seldom slow to listen to any proposal which 
promised an increase of wealth to his exchequer. On the 
5th of March 1495, the king granted his royal commission 

* Tiraboschi, Storia della Letter. Ital., vol. vi. b. i. cap. vi. § 24. 



[1495. 

to John Cabot, citizen of Venice, and his sons, Louis, 
Sebastian, and Sanchez, committing to him and them, and 
to their heirs and deputies, full authority to sail to all 
countries and seas of the East, West, and North, under the 
banner of England, with five ships of whatever burden and 
strength in mariners they might choose to employ. The 
equipment of this squadron was cautiously stipulated to be 
made "at their own proper costs and charges;" and its 
object stated to be the discovery of the isles, regions, and 
provinces of the Heathen and Infidels, which hitherto had 
been unknown to all the nations of Christendom, in what- 
ever part of the globe they might be placed. By the same 
deed the Cabots were empowered to set up the banners and 
ensigns of England in the newly discovered countries ; to 
subdue and possess them as lieutenants of the king ; and 
to enjoy the privilege of exclusive trade ; — the wary mon- 
arch, however, annexing to these privileges the condition, 
that he was to receive the fifth part of the capital gain 
upon every voyage, and binding their ships to return to 
the port of Bristol. * 

Two important facts are ascertained by this authentic 
document. It proves that John Cabot, a citizen of Venice, 
was the principal author of, and adventurer in, the project ; 
and that no voyage with a similar object had been under- 
taken prior to the 5th of March 1495. 

The expedition, however, did not sail till the spring of 
1497, more than a twelvemonth subsequent to the date of 
the original commission. What occasioned this delay it 
is now difficult to determine ; but, as the fleet was to be 
equipped at the sole expense of the adventurers, it is not 
improbable that Cabot had required the interval to raise the 
necessary capital. It is much to be regretted that in no 

* I have nearly followed the words of this important document, which 
is still preserved. Kymer, Fcedera Angliae, vol. xii. p. 596. 



1497.] DISCOVERY OF NORTH AMERICA. 5 

contemporary chronicle is there any detailed account of the 
voyage. We know, however, that it was conducted by 
John Cabot in person, who took with him his son Sebas- 
tian, then a very young man. Its result was undoubtedly 
the discovery of North America ; and although the parti- 
culars of this great event are lost, its exact date has been 
recorded by an unexceptionable witness, not only to a day, 
but even to an hour. On an ancient map, drawn by Sebas- 
tian Cabot, the son, whose name appears in the commission 
by the king, engraved by Clement Adams, a contemporary, 
and published, as there is reason to believe, under the eye 
of Sebastian, was written in Latin, the following brief but 
clear and satisfactory account of the discovery : — " In the 
year of our Lord 1497, John Cabot, a Venetian, and his 
son Sebastian, discovered that country, which no one before 
his time had ventured to approach, on the 24th of June, 
about five o'clock in the morning. He called the land 
Terra Primum Visa, because, as I conjecture, this was the 
place that first met his eyes in looking from the sea. On 
the contrary, the island which lies opposite the land he 
called the Island of St. John — as I suppose, because it 
was discovered on the festival of St. John the Baptist. 
The inhabitants wear beasts' skins and the intestines of 
animals for clothing, esteeming them as highly as we do 
our most precious garments. In war their weapons are the 
bow and arrow, spears, darts, slings, and wooden clubs. 
The country is sterile and uncultivated, producing no fruit ; 
from which circumstance it happens that it is crowded with 
white bears, and stags of an unusual height and size. It 
yields plenty of fish, and these very large ; such as seals 
and salmon : there are soles also above an ell in length ; 
but especially great abundance of that kind of fish called 
in the vulgar tongue Baccalaos. In the same island, also, 
breed hawks, so black in their colour that they wonderfully 



6 DISCOVERY OP NORTH AMERICA [1549. 

resemble ravens ; besides which, there are partridges and 
eagles of dark plumage." * 

Such is the notice of the discovery of North America ; 
and as some doubt has lately been thrown upon the subject, 
it may be remarked that the evidence of the fact contained 
in this inscription is perfectly unexceptionable. It comes 
from Clement Adams, the intimate friend of Richard Chan- 
celor ; and Chancelor lived, as is well known, in habits of 
daily intercourse with Sebastian Cabot, who accompanied 
his father on the first voyage of discovery. Unfortunately, 
both the original map and the engraving are lost; but 
happily Purchas has preserved the information, that the 
engraved map by Adams bore the date of 1549 ; -j- at which 
time Sebastian Cabot was in such great reputation at the 
court of Edward VI., that for his services he had received 
a princely pension. This young monarch, as we learn from 
Burnet, showed a peculiar fondness for maritime affairs. 
He possessed a collection of charts, which were hung up in 
his cabinet, and amongst them was the engraving of Cabot's 
map. The inscription, therefore, must have been seen there 
and elsewhere by Sebastian ; and, when we consider that 
the date of the engraving corresponds with the time when 
he was in high favour with the king, it does not seem impro- 
bable that this navigator, to gratify his youthful and royal 
patron, employed Adams to engrave from his own chart 
the map of North America, and that the facts stated in 
the inscription were furnished by himself. The singular 
minuteness of its terms seems to prove this ; for who but 
he, or some one personally present, after the lapse of fifty- 
two years, could have communicated the information that 
the discovery was made about five o'clock in the morning 
of the 24th June ? If, however, this is questioned as being 

* Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 6. f Purchas' Pilgrims, vol. iii. p. 807. 



1407-] BY JOHN CABOT, 7 

conjectural, the fact that Sebastian must have seen the 
inscription is sufficient to render the evidence perfectly con- 
clusive upon the important point of John Cabot being the 
discoverer of North America. That he had along with him 
in his ship his son Sebastian, cannot, we think, in the opinion 
of any impartial person, detract from or infringe upon the 
merit of the father. But, to complete the proof, a late 
writer has availed himself of an imperfect extract from a 
record of the rolls, furnished by the industrious Hakluyt, 
to discover an original document which sets the matter alto- 
gether at rest. This is the second commission for discovery, 
granted by Henry VII. on the 3d of February, and in the 
thirteenth year of his reign, to the same individual who 
conducted the first expedition. The letters are directed to 
John Kabotto, Venetian, and permit him to sail with six 
ships " to the land and isles of late found by the said John 
in our name and by our commandment."* It presents a 
singular picture of the inabilit}^ of an ingenious and other- 
wise acute mind to estimate the weight of historical evi- 
dence, when we find the biographer of Sebastian Cabot 
insisting, in the face of such a proof as this, that the glory 
of the first discovery of North America is solely due to 
Sebastian, and that it may actually be doubted whether his 
father accompanied the expedition at all. -J* 

Immediately after the discovery, the elder Cabot appears 
to have returned to England; and on the 10th of August 
we find, in the privy purse expenses of Henry VII., the 
sum of ten pounds awarded to him who found the New 
Isle, which was probably the name then given to New- 
foundland. Although much engrossed at this moment with 
the troubles which arose in his kingdom in consequence of 
the Cornish rebellion, the war with Scotland, and the 



* Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, p. 76. f Ibid- p. 50. 



8 JOHN CABOT KNIGHTED. [1497. 

attempt upon the crown by Perkin Warbeck, the king de- 
termined to pursue the enterprise, and to encourage a 
scheme for colonization under the conduct of the original 
discoverer. To this enterprising navigator he, on the 3d of 
February 1497,* granted those second letters-patent just 
alluded to, which conferred an ampler author; t j and more 
favourable terms than the first commission. Ee empowered 
John Kabotto, Venetian, to take at his pleasure six English 
ships, with their necessary apparel, and to lead them to the 
land and isles lately found by him according to the royal 
command. Cabot was also permitted to receive on board 
all such masters, mariners, pages, and other subjects as 
chose to accompany him; and it seems probable, from some 
entries in the privy purse expenses, that Launcelot Thir- 
kill of London, Thomas Bradley, and John Carter, embarked 
in the adventure. -j- 

When about to set sail on his second voyage, John 
Cabot, who had previously received from Henry the honour 
of knighthood, appears, from some cause not now discover- 
able, to have been prevented from taking the command;]: 
and though the name of Sebastian was not included in the 
second royal commission, he was promoted to the situation 
left vacant by his father. He must still, indeed, have been a 
young man ; but he had accompanied the first voyage, and at 
an early age developed that genius for naval enterprise which 
afterwards so remarkably distinguished him. We know 
from his account of himself that, at the time his parents 
carried him from Venice to London, he had attained some 

* Old style— 1498, new style. 

f See Mr. Nicholas' excellent collection entitled Excerpta Historica, 
pp. 116, 117. 

% The cause might be his death, but this is conjecture; of the fact 
there is no direct proof: of the knighthood it is not possible to doubt. 
See, in the Vindication of Hakluyt, the remarks on the errors of the bio- 
grapher of Cabot in his chapter on this subject. 



1498.] ACCOUNT OF SEBASTIAN CABOT S VOYAGE. 9 

knowledge of the sphere; and when about this period the 
great discovery of Columbus began to be talked of in Eng- 
land as a thing almost more divine than human, the effect 
of it upon his youthful imagination was to excite " a mighty 
longing," to use his own words, " and burning desire in his 
heart that he too should perform some illustrious action."* 
With such dispositions, we may easily imagine how rapid 
must have been his progress in naval science, with the 
benefit of his father's example and instructions. It is not 
matter of surprise, therefore, that though probably not more 
than twenty-three years old, the conduct of the enterprise 
was intrusted to him. He accordingly sailed from England 
with two ships in the summer of 1498, and directing his 
course by Iceland, soon reached Newfoundland, which he 
called Terra de Baccalaos, from the great quantity of fish 
of that name. 

Of this remarkable voyage a short account is preserved 
by Peter Martyr, the historian of the New World, a writer 
of high authority, and so intimate a friend of the navi- 
gator, that, at the time he wrote the passage which we now 
give, Sebastian was in the habit of paying him frequent 
visits at his house : " These northern seas," says this writer, 
"have been navigated and explored by Sebastian Cabot, 
a Venetian by birth, whom his parents, when they were 
setting out to settle in Britain, according to the common 
custom of the Venetians, who for the sake of commercial 
adventure become citizens of every country, carried along 
with them when he was little more than an infant.f He 
fitted out two ships in England at his own charges, and first, 



* Eamusio, Viaggi, vol. i. p. 414. 

•j" Cabot was born in England, and carried by his father into Italy 
when four years old. He was afterwards brought back to England 
when a youth, " assai giovane." — Eamusio, vol. i. p. 414. Memoir of 
Cabot, p. 69. 



10 ACCOUNT OP SEBASTIAN CABOT'S VOYAGE. [1498. 

with three hundred men, directed his course so far towards 
the North Pole, that even in the month of July he found 
great heaps of ice swimming in the sea, and almost con- 
tinual daylight. Yet he saw the land free from ice, which 
had been melted by the heat of the sun. Thus observing 
such masses of ice before him, he was compelled to turn his 
sails and follow the west; and, coasting still by the shore, 
was brought so far into the south, by reason of the land 
bending much to the southward, that it was there almost 
equal in latitude with the sea called Fretum Herculeum. 
He sailed to the west till he had the Island of Cuba on his 
left hand, almost in the same longitude. As he passed 
along those coasts, called by him Baccalaos, he affirmed 
that he found the same current of the waters towards the 
west which the Spaniards met with in the southern naviga- 
tions, with the single difference that they flowed more 
gently. From this circumstance it appears to me," says 
Martyr, " not only a probable, but an almost necessary 
conclusion, that there must exist, between both the conti- 
nents hitherto unknown, great gaps or open places, through 
which the waters continually pass from the east to the 
west. * * * Sebastian Cabot himself named these 
lands Baccalaos, because in the seas thereabout he found 
such an immense multitude of large fish like tunnies, called 
baccalaos by the natives, that they actually impeded the 
sailing of his ships. He found also the inhabitants of 
these regions covered with beasts' skins, yet not without 
the use of reason. He also relates that there are plenty of 
bears in these parts, which feed upon fish. It is the prac- 
tice of these animals to throw themselves into the midst of 
the shoals of fish, and, each seizing his prey, to bury their 
claws in the scales, drag them to land, and there devour 
them. On this account he says that these bears meddle 
little with men. * * * Cabot is mv intimate 



1498-] ACCOUNT OF SEBASTIAN CABOT'S VOYAGE. 11 

friend, and one whom it is my delight to have frequently 
under my roof; for, being called out of England by the 
command of the King of Castile after the death of Henry 
VII., he was made one of our council and assistants relating 
to the affairs of the new Indies ; and he looks daily for 
ships to be fitted out for him, that he may discover this 
hidden secret of nature. I expect," concludes Peter Mar- 
tyr, " that he will be able to set out on his voyage during the 
course of the next year, 1516, and in the month of March." * 
When it is known that Sebastian Cabot's second voyage-]- 
from England to North America did not take place till 
1517, it becomes certain that the above passage, written 
in 1515, must relate to the expedition of 1498; and re- 
membering that the author was personally intimate with 
this navigator, and wrote only seventeen years after the 
voyage had taken place, we are inclined to set a high 
value on such an authority. It is deeply to be regretted 
that the original maps drawn by so eminent a discoverer, 
and the discourses with which he illustrated them, are now 
lo3t ; \ but in this deficiency of original materials, the work 
of Ramusio — a collector of voyages who was a contempo- 
rary of Cabot — supplies some valuable information. 

In the first volume of his Voyages, this amusing writer 
has introduced a discourse upon the different routes by which 
the spices of the East were conveyed in ancient times to 
Europe ; and towards the conclusion of the essay he brings 



* Peter Martyr, De Orbe Novo, 3d decad. cap. 6. Edition by Hak- 
luyt, p. 232. — Eden's Translation in Willes' Hist, of Travayle, p. 125. 
— The hidden secret, or natural phenomenon, of which Cabot was ex- 
pected to penetrate the cause, is stated by Martyr at p. 231. It was to 
resolve the question, " "Why the seas in these parts run with so swift a 
current from the east to the west?" 

f Although the son accompanied the father, I consider the voyage of 
1497 as solely conducted by John Cabot. 

J Memoir of Cabot, p. 41. 



12 RAMUSIO'S ACCOUNT OF SEBASTIAN CABOT. [1496. 

in a subject which then deeply occupied the attention of 
learned men — the project, namely, for discovering a passage 
to the kingdom of Cathay and the coasts of India, by the 
north-west. In the discussion of this point, Ramusio 
minutely describes a conversation which took place at the 
villa of the celebrated Italian physician and poet, Fracas- 
toro, between Ramusio himself, Fracastoro, an architect 
named St. Michael, and a certain philosopher and mathe- 
matician, who gave them an account of an interview which 
he once had with Sebastian Cabot in the city of Seville. 
The whole passage is interesting, whether we look to the 
information regarding Cabot, or to the pleasing picture it 
brings before us of the great Fracastoro in his philosophic 
and classical retreat at Caphi. No apology, therefore, need 
be made for presenting it to the reader. " Having thus 
given you," says the Italian writer, " all that I could ex- 
tract from ancient and modern authors upon this subject, 
it would be inexcusable in me if I did not relate a high 
and admirable discourse, which, some few months ago, it 
was my good fortune to hear, in company with the excel- 
lent architect, Michael de St. Michael, in the sweet and 
romantic country-seat of Hieronymo Fracastoro, named 
Caphi, situated near Verona, whilst we sat on the top of a 
hill, commanding a view of the whole of the Lago di 
Garda. * * * Being then, as I said, at Caphi, where we 
had gone to visit our excellent friend Hieronymo, we found 
him on our arrival sitting in company with a certain 
gentleman, whose name, from motives of delicacy and re- 
spect, I conceal. He was, however, a profound philosopher 
and mathematician, and at that moment engaged in ex- 
hibiting to Fracastoro an instrument lately constructed to 
show a new motion of the heavens. Having reasoned 
upon this point for a long time, they, by way of recreation, 
caused a large globe, upon which the world was minutely 



1496-] RAMUSIO'S ACCOUNT OF SEBASTIAN CABOT. 13 

laid down, to be brought; and having this before him, the 
gentleman I have mentioned began to speak to the follow- 
ing purpose." Ramusio, after this introduction, gives us, 
as proceeding from the stranger, a great mass of geogra- 
phical information, after which he introduces him discussing 
with Fracastoro the probability of a north-west passage to 
India. "At this point of his conversation," says he, 
" after the stranger had made a pause for a few moments, 
he turned to us and said, — ' Do you not know, regarding 
this project of going to India by the north-west, what was 
formerly achieved by your fellow-citizen the Venetian, a 
most extraordinary man, and so deeply conversant in every- 
thing connected with navigation and the science of cosmo- 
graphy, that in these days he hath not his equal in Spain, 
insomuch that for his ability he is preferred above all 
other pilots that sail to the West Indies, who may not pass 
thither without his license, on which account he is denomi- 
nated Piloto Mayor, or Grand Pilot ?' When to this ques- 
tion we replied that we knew him not, the stranger pro- 
ceeded to tell us, that being some years ago in the city of 
Seville, he was desirous to gain an acquaintance with the 
navigations of the Spaniards, when he learnt that there 
was in the city a valiant man, a Venetian born, named 
Sebastian Cabot, who had the charge of those things, being 
an expert man in the science of navigation, and one who 
could make charts for the sea with his own hand. ' Upon 
this report of him,' continued he, ' I sought his acquaint- 
ance, and found him a pleasant and courteous person, who 
loaded me with kindness, and showed me many things ; 
among the rest a large map of the world, with the naviga- 
tions of the Portuguese and the Spaniards minutely laid 
down upon it; and in exhibiting this to me, he informed me 
that his father, many years ago, having left Venice and 
gone to settle as a merchant in England, had taken him to 



14 RAMUSIo's ACCOUNT OF SEBASTIAN CABOT. [1496. 

London when he was still a youth; yet not so backward, 
but he had then acquired the knowledge of the Latin tongue, 
and some acquaintance with the sphere. It so happened, 
he said, that his father died at that time when the news 
arrived that Don Christopher Columbus had discovered the 
coast of the Indies, of which there was much talk at the 
court of Henry VII., who then reigned in England.' " 
The effect of this discovery upon Cabot's youthful ambition, 
which we have already alluded to, is next described by 
Ramusio from the report of the stranger, and he then pro- 
ceeds in these remarkable words : — " ' Being aware,' said 
Cabot to me, ' that if I sailed with the wind bearing me in 
a north-westerly course, I should come to India by a 
shorter route, I suddenly imparted my ideas to the king, 
who was much pleased with them, and fitted out for me 
three caravels with all necessary stores and equipments. 
This,' he added, * was in the beginning of the summer of 
the year 1496, and I began to sail towards the north-west 
with the idea that the first land I should make would be 
Cathay, from which I intended afterwards to direct my 
course to the Indies ; but after the lapse of several days, 
having discovered it, I found that the coast ran towards 
the north, to my great disappointment. From thence 
sailing along it, to ascertain if I could find any gulf to run 
into, I could discover none ; and thus having proceeded as 
far as 56° under the Pole, and seeing that here the coast 
trended towards the east, I despaired of discovering any 
passage, and after this turned back to examine the same 
coast in its direction towards the equinoctial — always with 
the same object of finding a passage to the Indies — and thus 
at last I reached the country at present named Florida, 
where, since my provisions began to fail me, I took the 
resolution of returning to England. On arriving in that 
country, I found great tumults, occasioned by the rising 



1498.] SEBASTIAN CABOT. 15 

of the common people and the war in Scotland ; nor was 
there any more talk of a voyage to these parts. For this 
reason I departed into Spain to their most Catholic Majes- 
ties, Ferdinand and Isabella, who, having learnt what I 
had accomplished, received me into their service, provided 
for me handsomely, and despatched me on a voyage of 
discovery to the coast of Brazil, where I found an exceed- 
ing deep and mighty river, called at present La Plata, into 
which I sailed and explored its course into the continent 
more than six score leagues. * * * This,' continued 
the stranger gentleman, addressing himself to us, ' is the 
substance of all that I learnt from the Signor Sebastian 
Cabot.' "• 

Such is the passage from Ramusio ; and from it we have 
another proof, that of this second voyage, which probably 
took place after the death of the original discoverer, Sebas- 
tian Cabot had the sole command ; that its object was to 
find a north-west passage to India, and that the highest 
latitude which he reached was 56°. I am quite aware 
some of the statements in this extract are erroneous, and 
that Gomara, an author of good authority, carries Sebas- 
tian as far as 58° north ;-j- but, considering the particular 
circumstances under which the information is conveyed, 
there is no reason to doubt that the general sketch of the 
voyage is correct; and it establishes the important fact, 
that as early as 1498, the coast of North America, from 
the latitude of 56° or 58° north to the coast of Florida, had 
been discovered by the English. The domestic affairs of 
Henry, however, and the involved political negotiations 
with France and the continent, undoubtedly prevented the 
king from holding out to Sebastian that encouragement 
with which so great a discovery ought to have been re- 

* Viaggi del Ramusio, torn. i. pp. 413, 414. 
f Memoir of Cabot, p. 87. 



1G CORTEREAL. [1500. 

warded; and after an interval of fourteen years, of which 
we have no certain account, this great navigator left Eng- 
land and entered into the service of Spain. 

The Portuguese, a nation to whose genius and persever- 
ance the sister sciences of geography and navigation owe 
some of their highest triumphs, were at this period in the 
zenith of their fame, animated with an enthusiastic spirit 
of enterprise, and ready to consider every discovery not 
conducted by themselves as an encroachment upon their 
monopoly of maritime glory. Inspired with this jealousy, 
Gaspar de Cortereal, of whose expedition notice has already 
been taken in this Library,* determined to pursue the track 
of discovery opened by Cabot in the north-west, and in 
1500, sailed with two ships from Lisbon, animated by the 
desire of exploring this supposed new route to India.-)- 
Cortereal touched at the Azores, where he completed his 
crews, and took in provisions. He then steered a course 
never, as far as he knew, traced by any former navigator, 
and came upon a country to which he gave the name of 
Terra Verde, but which is carefully to be distinguished 
from that called Greenland. This was in truth the coast 
of Labrador, denominated in an old map published at Rome 
in 1508, Terra Corterealis. It lay between the west and 
north-west; and, after having explored it for upwards of 



* Discovery and Adventure in the Polar Seas, 3d edition, p. 184, and 
Lives and Voyages of Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier, p. 24. 

f Cortereal had been educated in the household of the King of Por- 
tugal before he came to the throne, and when he still bore the title of 
Duke de Beja. — Damiano Goes, Chronica del Rey Dom. Manuel, c. QQ, 
cap. 66, p. 187. His character, as given by this ancient and contem- 
porary chronicler, is brief and forcible: " Gaspar de Cortereal, son of 
John Vaz Cortereal, was a man of an enterprising and determined char- 
acter, ardently thirsting after glory; for which reason he proposed to 
set out on a voyage of discovery, seeking countries in northern latitudes, 
we (the Portuguese) having at this time discovered many in southern 
parts." 



1500.] CORTEREAL 17 

six hundred miles without reaching any termination, Cortereal 
concluded that it must form part of the mainland, which was 
connected with another region discovered in the preceding 
year in the north — evidently alluding to the voyage of 
Sebastian Cabot in 1498.* The most curious and authen- 
tic aecount of this remarkable expedition of the Portuguese 
navigator is to be found in a letter, written by Pietro Pas- 
quiligi, the Venetian ambassador at the court of Portugal, 
to his brothers in Italy, only eleven days after the return 
of Cortereal from his first voyage. " On the 8th of Octo- 
ber," says he, "there arrived in this port one of the two 
caravels, which were last year despatched by the King of 
Portugal for the discovery of lands lying in the north, under 
the command of Gaspar Cortereal. He relates that he has 
discovered a country situated between the west and north- west, 
distant from this about two thousand miles, and which before 
the present time was utterly unknown. They ran along the 
coast between six hundred and seven hundred miles without, 
arriving at its termination, on which account they concluded 
it to be the same continent that is connected with another 
land discovered last year in the north, which, however, the 
caravels could not reach, the sea being frozen, and a vast 
quantity of snow having fallen. They were confirmed in 
the same opinion by finding so many mighty rivers, which 
certainly were too numerous and too large to have pro- 
ceeded from an island. They report that this land is 
thickly peopled, and that the houses are built of very long 
beams of timber, and covered with the furs of the skins of 
fishes. They have brought hither along with them seven 
of the inhabitants, including men, women, and children ; 
and in the other caravel, which is looked for every hour, 
they are bringing fifty more. These people, in colour, 



* Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, p. 241. 



18 CORTEREAL. [1500. 

figure, stature, and expression, greatly resemble gipsies; 
they are clothed with the skins of different beasts, but 
chiefly of the otter, wearing the hair outside in summer, 
and next to the skin in winter. These skins, too, are not 
sewed together, nor shaped to the body in any fashion, but 
wrapt around their arms and shoulders exactly as taken 
from the animals ; whilst the slight and partial covering 
which they wear is formed with strong cords made of the 
sinews or entrails of fishes. On this account their appear- 
ance is completely savage; yet they are very sensible to 
shame, gentle in their manners, and better made in their 
arms, legs, and shoulders, than can be expressed. Their 
faces are punctured in the same manner as the Indians; — 
wme have six marks, some eight, some fewer; they use a 
language of their own, but it is understood by no one. 
Moreover, I believe that every possible language has been 
addressed to them. They have no iron in their country, 
but manufacture knives out of certain kinds of stones, with 
which they point their arrows. They have also brought 
from this island a piece of a broken sword inlaid with gold, 
which we can pronounce undoubtedly to have been made 
in Italy; and one of the children had in his ears two 
pieces (todini) of silver, which as certainly appear to have 
been made in Venice — a circumstance inducing me to 
believe that their country belongs to the continent, since it 
is evident that if it had been an island where any vessel 
had touched before this time, we should have heard of it. 
They have great plenty of salmon, herring, stockfish, and 
similar kinds of fish. They have also abundance of timber, 
and principally of the pine, fitted for the masts and yards 
of ships; on which account his Serene Majesty anticipates 
the greatest advantage from this country, both in furnishing 
timber for his shipping, of which he at present stands in 
great need, and also from the men who inhabit it, who 



1501.] CORTEREAL. 19 

appear admirably fitted to endure labour, and will probably 
turn out the best slaves which have been discovered up to 
this time. This arrival appeared to me an event of which 
it was right to inform you; and if, on the arrival of the 
other caravel, I receive any additional information, it shall 
be transmitted to you in like manner."* 

Nothing could be more cruel and impolitic than the con- 
duct of Cortereal, in seizing and carrying into captivity 
these unfortunate natives ; and it is difficult to repress our 
indignation at the heartless and calculating spirit with which 
the Portuguese monarch entered into the adventure, con- 
templating the rich supplies of slaves that were to be im- 
ported from this new country. -J- It is an ingenious con- 
jecture of the biographer of Cabot, to whose research we 
owe our acquaintance with this letter, that the name Terra 
de Laborador was given to the coast by the Portuguese 
slave merchants in consequence of the admirable qualities 
of the natives as labourers, and in anticipation of the profits 
to be derived from a monopoly of this unchristian traffic. 

But distress and disaster pursued the speculation. On 
the 15th May 1501, Cortereal departed on a second voyage 
with a determination to pursue his discovery, and, as we 
may plausibly conjecture, to return with a new cargo of 
slaves and timber; but he was never again heard of. A 
similar dark and unhappy fate befell his brother, Michael 
de Cortereal, who sailed with two ships in search of his 
lost relative, but of whom no accounts ever again reached 
Portugal. The most probable conjecture seems to be, that 

* Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, pp. 239, 240. 

f I observe that in the History of Discovery and Adventure in the 
Polar Seas, Mr. Murray has questioned the accuracy of the opinion 
stated by the biographer of Cabot, " that the objects of Cortereal's 
second voyage were timber and slaves." The letter, however, of Pas- 
quiligi seems to me decisive, that, if not the sole, they were at least very 
principal objects in the second voyage. 



20 UNFOUNDED CLAIM OF THE PORTUGUESE. [1503. 

they both fell victims to the just indignation of the natives, 
whose wives, children, and fathers had been stolen away 
during their first visit to the coast. " The king," says 
Goes, " felt deeply the loss of these two brothers, so much 
the more as they had been educated by him; and on this 
account, moved by royal and gracious tenderness, in the 
following year, 1503, he sent at his own expense two armed 
ships in search of them; but it could never be discovered 
where or in what manner either the one or the other was 
lost, on which account this province of Terra Verde, where 
it was supposed the two brothers perished, was called the 
Land of the Cortereals."* The description of the inhabitants, 
as given by this contemporary chronicler, contains a few 
additional particulars to those mentioned by Pasquiligi. 
11 The people of the country," says he, " are very barbarous 
and uncivilized, almost equally so with the natives of Santa 
Cruz, except that they are white, and so tanned by the cold, 
that the white colour is lost as they grow older, and they 
become blackish. They are of the middle size, very lightly 
made, and great archers. Instead of javelins, they employ 
sticks burnt in the end, which they use as missiles to as 
good purpose as if they were pointed with fine steel. They 
clothe themselves in the skins of beasts, of which there are 
great plenty in the country. They live in caverns of rocks, 
and in houses shaped like nests (choupanas). They have no 
laws, believe much in auguries, live in matrimony, and are very 
jealous of their wives, in which things they much resemble 
the Laplanders, who also inhabit a northern latitude under 
70° to 85°, subject to the kings of Norway and Sweden. "\ 
Upon these voyages of the Cortereals the Portuguese at- 
tempted to establish a claim to the discovery of Newfound- 
land and the adjacent coasts of North America, though 

* Damiano Goes, Chronica del Key Dom. Manuel, part i. c. 66. 
f Ibid, c. 66, p. 87. 



1498.] SEBASTIAN CABOT'S RETURN TO ENGLAND. 21 

there is ample historical evidence that both had been visited 
by the two Cabots three years prior to the departure ot 
Cortereal from Lisbon. Maps appear to have been forged 
to support this unfair assumption ; and in a volume published 
by Madrignanon at Milan in 1508, which represents itself 
to be a translation of the Italian work entitled " Paesi 
Nuovamente Ritrovati," the original letter of Pasquiligi, 
describing the arrival of Gasper Cortereal, is disgracefully 
garbled and corrupted, for the purpose, as it would seem, 
of keeping the prior discoveries of the Cabots in the back- 
ground, and advancing a fabricated claim for the Portu- 
guese.* It is unfortunate that this disingenuous process of 
poisoning the sources of historic truth has succeeded, and 
that many authors, not aware of its apocryphal character, 
which has been acutely exposed by the biographer of Cabot, 
have given currency to the fable of Madrignanon. 

About fourteen years after his return from the voyage of 
1498, we have seen that Sebastian Cabot was induced to 
enter the service of Spain; but, though highly esteemed 
for his eminent abilities, appointed one of the Council of 
the Indies by Ferdinand, and nominated to the command 
of an expedition to the north in search of a north-west 
passage, he appears to have been baffled and thwarted in 
his plans by the jealousy of the Spaniards, and was at last 
compelled to abandon them on the death of Ferdinand. 
He then returned to England; and, indefatigable in the 
prosecution of that great object which formed the prominent 
pursuit of his life, induced Henry VIII. to fit out a small 
squadron for the discovery of the north-west passage to India. 
Unfortunately, however, for the success of the voyage, Sir 
Thomas Pert, at this time Vice-Admiral of England, was 
intrusted with the supreme command, whose want of courage 

* Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, pp. 251, 252. 



22 POLAR DISCOVERIES. [1498. 

and resolution was the cause of its ultimate failure. The 
object of Cabot was to proceed by Iceland towards the 
American coast, which he had already explored as far as 
56°, according to Ramusio, or, if we follow Gomara, 58° 
north. This would lead him, to use the expression of 
Thorne,* by the back of Newfoundland; and from this point, 
pursuing his voyage farther to the northward, he expected 
to find a passage to the kingdom of Cathay. The ships 
accordingly set sail, and en the 11th of June they had 
reached the 67-J of northern latitude. They here found 
the sea open, and Cabot entertained a confident hope of 
sailing through a bay, or "fret," which they had then 
entered, to the shores of the Eastern Cathay, when a mutiny 
of the mariners, and the faintheartedness of Sir Thomas 
Pert, compelled him, much against his inclination, to desist 
from the farther prosecution of the voyage, and return 
home.-|- From the high latitude reached by this enter- 

* Letter of Eobert Thorne. — Hakluyt, edition of 1589, p. 250. — 
" And if they will take their course, after they be past the Pole, towards 
the Occident, they shall goe in the back side of the Newfoundland, which 
of late was discovered by your Grace's subjects, until they come to the 
back side and south seas of the Indies Occidental : And so, continuing 
their voyage, they may return thorow the Straight of Magellan to this 
country, and so they compass also the world by that way ; and if they 
goe this third way, and after they be past the Pole, goe right toward the 
Pole Antarticke, and then decline towards the lands and islands situated 
between the tropicks and under the equinoctial, without doubt they shall 
find there the richest lands and islands of the world, of gold, precious 
stones, balmis spices, and other thinges that we here esteem most, which 
come out of strange countries, and may return the same way." See also 
Gomara, as quoted in the Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, p. 21. 

j- It is evidently to this third voyage that the passage in Eamusio, 
vol. iii. p. 4, of the " Discorso sopra il terzo volume," applies. Memoir 
of Cabot, p. 117. It is valuable, as this author, though he appears by 
mistake to have put the name of Henry VII. for that of Henry VIII., 
quotes in it a letter which many years before he had received from 
Sebastian Cabot himself. He (Eamusio), in speaking of the discoveries 
subsequently made by Verrazzano, and of the country of New France, 
remarks, that of this land it is not certain as yet whether it is joined to 



1498.] SEBASTIAN CABOT ENTERS HUDSON^ BAY. 23 

prising seaman, as well as from the expressions employed 
by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in speaking of the voyage, it 
appears certain that Cabot had entered the great bay after- 
wards explored by Hudson, and since known by his name.* 
It is an extraordinary fact, therefore, but it rests upon 
evidence which it would be difficult to controvert, that 
ninety years before the first voyage of Hudson, he had 
been anticipated in his principal discovery by an early 
navigator, to whose merits the world have done little 
justice. 

Whilst the Portuguese, the Spaniards, and the English, 
had early entered upon the career of discovery, the French, 
a people undoubtedly of the highest genius and enterprise, 
evinced an unaccountable inactivity upon this great subject, 
and appeared to view with indifference the brilliant suc- 

the continent of Florida and New Spain, or whether it is separated into 
islands, and may thus admit of a passage to the kingdom of Cathay. 
" Come," he proceeds, " come mi fu scritto gia molti anni sono, dal Sig- 
nor Sebastian Gabotto nostro Vinitiano huomo di grande esperienza et 
rara nell' arte del navigare, e nella scienza di cosmografia : il quale avea 
navicato disopra di questa terra della Nuova Francia a spese del Ee 
Henrico VII. d'Inghilterra e me diciva, come essendo egli andato lunga- 
mente alia volta de ponente e quarta di Maestro dietro queste Isole poste 
lungo la delta terra fini a gradi sessanta sette e mezzo sotto il nostro polo 
a xi. di Gruigno e trovandosi il mare aperto e senza impedimento alcuno, 
pensava fermamente per quella via di poter passare alia volta del Cataio 
Orientale, e l'avrebbe fatto, se la malignita del padrone e de marineri 
sollevati non l'havessero fatto tornare a dietro." This discourse is 
dated 20th June 1553. 

* Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 16. It must be recollected that Sir Humphrey 
Gilbert had the advantage of having examined the charts of Sebastian 
Cabot, which, he tells us, were then to be seen in the Queen's privy gal- 
lery at Whitehall. It has also been acutely remarked by a late writer 
(Memoir of Cabot, p. 29), that Ortelius, who died nine years before 
Hudson undertook his first voyage, in the map of America, published in 
his great geographical work, the " Theatrum Orbis Terrarum," has laid 
down the form of Hudson's Bay with singular precision. Now, we know 
by the list of authorities cited by Ortelius, that he was in possession of 
a map of the world by Sebastian Cabot. The source, therefore, from 
which he derived his information is evident. 



24 VERAZZANO's VOYAGE. [1524. 

cesses of other nations. At length Francis I., a monarch 
who was deeply smit with the love of glory, caught the 
enthusiasm for maritime discovery, and eager to cope upon 
equal terms with his great rival Charles V., fitted out a 
squadron of four ships, the command of which he entrusted 
to Giovanni Yerazzano, a Florentine navigator of great 
skill and celebrity. The destination of the armament, 
however, appears to have embraced the purposes of plunder 
as well as of discovery ; and in a cruise, three of his vessels 
were so much damaged in a storm, that they were com- 
pelled, for the purpose of refitting, to run into a port in 
Brittany, from which, impatient of the delay, the admiral, in 
a single vessel named the Dauphin, set sail with a determina- 
tion to prosecute discoveries. He first steered his course for 
Madeira, and thence sailed in a westerly direction for twenty- 
five days, making in that time five hundred leagues. A 
storm now attacked him, in which his little vessel had nearly 
perished; but he at last weathered the gale, and proceed- 
ing onwards for four hundred leagues^ arrived upon a coast 
that, according to his own account, had never before been 
visited.* It is probable that this shore belonged either to 
North or South Carolina ;-j- and the appearance of many 
large fires on the beach convinced him that the country 
was inhabited. Yerazzano, however, in vain sought for a 
port; and after exploring the coast both to the south and 
north without success, he was compelled to anchor in the 
open sea, after which he sent his boat on shore to open an 
intercourse with the natives. This he effected not without 
some difficulty; for as soon as the French landed, the 
savages fled in great trepidation; yet they soon after stole 
back, exhibiting signs of much wonder and curiosity. At 



* Eamusio, Viaggi, vol. iii. p. 420. — " Dovi scopsimmo una terra 
nuova, non piu da gl'antichi ne da moderni vista." 

f " Sta qucsta terra m gradi 34°." — Eamusio, vol. iii. p. 420. 



1524.] VERAZZANO. 25 

last, being convinced that they had nothing to fear, they 
completely recovered their confidence, and not only brought 
provisions to the French, but assisted in drawing their boat 
on shore, and carefully and minutely scrutinized every- 
thing belonging to the vessels and the crew. They ad- 
mired the white skin of the strangers, handled their dress, 
and exhibited the utmost astonishment and delight. They 
themselves were a handsome race of people, their eyes 
dark and large, their expression bold, open, and cheerful ; 
their chests were broad, and they combined middle stature 
and symmetry of limbs with great nimbleness and swiftness 
of foot. Their colour was tawny, not unlike the Saracens, 
and they wore their hair, which was black and thick, tied 
behind their head in a little tail, and sometimes ornamented 
with a garland of birds' feathers. Their bodies were not 
disfigured or tattooed in any way, and they walked about 
perfectly naked, except that they wore short aprons of furs 
fastened round their middle by a girdle of woven grass. 
In the immediate vicinity of the coast the country was 
sandy, rising into gentle undulations ; as they proceeded it 
became more elevated, and was covered by noble woods, 
consisting, not of the usual forest trees, but of the palm, 
laurel, cypress, and others then unknown in Europe, which 
grew to a great height, and diffused a delicious perfume 
that was discerned far out at sea. " The land also," says 
Verazzano in his letter to Francis I., " is full of many 
animals, as stags, deer, and hares, which were seen sport- 
ing in the forests, and frequenting the banks of pleasant 
lakes and rivers ; nor were there wanting great plenty 
and variety of birds of game, fitted to afford delightful 
recreation for the sportsman. The sky was clear, the 
air wholesome and temperate, the prevalent wind blow- 
ing from the west, and the sea calm and placid. In 
short, a country more full of amenity could not well be 



26 VERAZZANO. 524. 

imagined."* An excellent author and navigator thinks it 
probable that the spot where Verazzano first landed was on 
the coast of Georgia, near the present town of Savannah.-j- 
From this he proceeded along the shore, which turned 
to the eastward, and appeared thickly inhabited, but so low 
and open, that landing in such a surf was impossible. In 
this perplexity a young sailor undertook to swim to land 
and accost the natives ; but when he saw the crowds which 
thronged the beach, he repented of his purpose, and al- 
though within a few yards of the landing-place, his courage 
failed, and he attempted to turn back. At this moment 
the water only reached his waist ; but, overcome with ter- 
ror and exhaustion, he had scarcely strength to cast his 
presents and trinkets upon the beach, when a high wave 
cast him stupified and senseless upon the shore. The 
savages ran immediately to his assistance, and carried him 
to a little distance from the sea, where it was some time 
before he recovered his recollection; and great was his 
terror when he found himself entirely in their power. 
Stretching his hands towards the ship, he uttered a pierc- 
ing shriek, to which his friends of the New World replied 
by raising a loud yell, intended, as he afterwards found, to 
encourage him. But, if this was sufficiently alarming, 
their farther proceedings proved still more formidable. They 
carried him to the foot of a hill, turned his face towards the 
sun, kindled a large fire, and stripped him naked. No 
doubt was now left in the mind of the unhappy man that 
they were about to offer him as a sacrifice to the sun ; and 
his companions on board, who watched the progress of the 
adventure, unable, from the violence of the sea, to lend him 
assistance, were of the same opinion. They thought, to 
use Verazzano's own words, that the natives were going 

* Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 420. 

f Forster's Discoveries in the North, p. 433. 



1524.] VERAZZANO. 27 

to roast and eat him.* But their fears were soon turned 
into gratitude and astonishment ; for they only dried his 
clothes, warmed him, and showed him every mark of kind- 
ness, caressing and patting his white skin; and on observ- 
ing that he still trembled and looked suspicious, they assisted 
him to dress, conducted him to the beach, tenderly em- 
braced him, and, pointing to the vessel, removed to a little 
distance, to show that he was at liberty to return to his 
friends. This he did by swimming to the ship's boat, which 
had been put out to receive him, followed by the kind ges- 
tures of the savages, who gazed after him till they saw him 
safe among his friends. The spot where Verazzano found 
this amiable people is conjectured by Forster to have been 
somewhere between New Jersey and Staaten Island. 

From this the Florentine sailed onward, observing the 
coast trending to the northward, and after a run of fifty 
leagues, came to anchor off a delightful country covered with 
the finest forests. The trees, although equally luxuriant, 
did not emit the same perfume as those before seen ; but 
the region was rich, covered with grass, and thickly peopled, 
although the natives appeared more timid than the last, and 
avoided all intercourse. The sailors, however, discovered 
and seized a family who had concealed themselves in the 
underwood, consisting of an old woman, a young girl of 
a tall and handsome figure, and six children. The two 
younger of the little ones were squatted on the shoulders 
of the old woman, and another child hung behind her back, 
whilst the girl was similarly loaded. On being approached, 
both the females shrieked loudly ; but having succeeded in 
pacifying them, the sailors understood, by their signs, that 
all the men had escaped to the woods on the appearance of 
the ships. Much persuasion was now used to induce them 

* Kamusio, vol. in p. 421. 



28 VERAZZANO. [1524. 

to go on board; but although the elderly lady showed 
symptoms of acquiescence, and eagerly ate the food which 
was offered her, no entreaties could soften the obstinacy and 
rage of the younger. She uttered piercing cries, cast the 
meat indignantly on the ground, and rendered the task of 
dragging her through the thick woods so tedious and dis- 
tressing, that they were obliged to desist and leave her, 
only carrying with them a little boy, who could make no 
resistance.* The people of this country possessed fairer 
complexions than those whom they had just left, and were 
clad with large leaves sewed together with threads of wild 
hemp. Their common food was pulse, but they subsisted 
also by fishing, and were very expert in catching birds with 
gins. Their bows were made of hard wood, their arrows 
of canes headed with fish-bone, and their boats constructed 
of one large tree hollowed by fire, for they appeared to have 
no instruments of iron or other metal. Wild vines crept 
up the trunks of the trees, hanging in rich festoons from 
the branches, and the banks and meadows were covered 
with roses, lilies, violets, and many sorts of herbs different 
from those of Europe, yielding a fresh and delightful fra- 
grance. 

Verazzano now proceeded one hundred leagues farther, 
to a sheltered and beautiful bay surrounded by gently rising 
hills, and discovered a large river, which from its depth 
seemed navigable to a considerable distance. Fearful, how- 
ever, of any accident, they ascended it in boats ; and the voyage 
conducted them through a country so full of sweetness and 
attraction, that they left it with much regret, -j- Prosecut- 
ing their discoveries fifty leagues eastward, they reached 
another island of a triangular shape, covered with rich 
wood, and rising into gentle hills, which reminded them of 

* Kamuiso, vol. iii. p. 421. f Ibid. 



1524.] VERAZZANO. 29 

Rhodes, both in its form and general aspect. A contrary 
wind, however, rendered it impossible to land, and pursuing 
their course about fifteen leagues farther along the coast, 
they found a port where there was an excellent anchorage. 
Here they were soon visited by the natives, who came in a 
squadron of twenty boats, and at first cautiously kept at 
the distance of fifty paces. Observing, however, the friendly 
gestures of the strangers, they ventured nearer, and when 
the French threw them bells, mirrors, and other trinkets, 
they raised a loud and simultaneous shout expressive of 
joy and security, no longer hesitating to row their boats to 
the ship's side and come aboard. They are described by 
Verazzano, in his account of the voyage sent to Francis I., 
as the finest and handsomest race, and the most civilized in 
their manners, of any he had yet met in America. Their 
colour was fairer than that of the more southern people, 
and in the symmetry of their forms, and the simplicity and 
gracefulness of their attitudes, they almost vied with the 
antique. They soon became exceedingly friendly and inti- 
mate, and conducted the French into the interior of the 
country, which they found variegated with wood, and more 
delightful than can be easily described. Adapted for every 
sort of cultivation, whether of corn, vines, or olives, it was 
interspersed with plains of twenty-five or thirty leagues in 
length, open and unencumbered with trees, and of such 
fertility, that whatever fruit might be sown, was certain to 
produce a rich and abundant return. They afterwards 
entered the woods, which were of great size, and so thick 
that a large army might have been concealed in them. The 
trees consisted of oaks and cypresses, besides other species 
unknown to Europe. They found also apples, parsley, 
plums, and filberts, and many other kinds of fruit different 
from those of Italy. They saw likewise many animals, 
such as harts, roes, wolves, and stags, which the natives 



30 VERAZZANO. [1524. 

caught with snares, and destroyed with bows and arrows, 
their principal weapons of offence. The arrows were made 
with great neatness, and at the point, instead of iron they 
inserted flints, jaspers, hard marble, and other kinds of cut 
stones. These they also made use of in felling trees, and 
in excavating their boats, which, with great skill, were 
made of a single trunk, yet large enough to hold ten or 
twelve men commodiously. Their oars were short and 
broad at the extremity, which they plied in the sea without 
any accident happening, trusting solely to their strength 
of arm and skilful management, and seeming able to go at 
almost any rate they pleased. Their houses were constructed 
in a circular shape, ten or twelve paces in circuit, built of 
boards, and separated from each other without any attention 
paid to architectural arrangement, covered with tiles made 
of clay, of excellent workmanship, and effectually protected 
from the wind and rain.* On one subject alone they showed 
suspicion, being extremely jealous of the least intercourse 
between the French and their women. These they would 
on no persuasion allow to enter the ship, and on one occa- 
sion, while the king came on board, and spent some hours 
in curiously examining every part of the vessel, his royal 
consort was left with her female attendants in a boat at 
some distance, and strictly watched and guarded. -J- 

The French now bade adieu to this kind people, and 
pursued their discoveries for one hundred and fifty leagues, 
exploring a coast which extended first towards the east and 
afterwards to the north. The country still presented an agree- 
able and inviting aspect, although the climate became colder, 
and the regions along which they passed more hilly. A pro- 

* Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 422. 

f This country, according to Verazzano, was situated in 411° of lati- 
tude (Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 422), which, if correct, would point it out as 
the present flourishing state of Massachusetts. 



1524.] VERAZZANO. 31 

gress of other fifty leagues brought them to a more mountain- 
ous district than any yet seen, covered with dark and dense 
forests, and possessed by a people whose habits and temper 
seemed to partake of the severer nature of their country. 
On attempting to open an intercourse, Verazzano found 
them as fierce and sullen as those with whom he had lately 
dealt were agreeable and generous. Twenty-five of the 
crew who landed were received with a shower of arrows ; 
and although the exhibition of articles of barter overcame 
their scruples, and tempted them to agree to an interchange 
of commodities, the manner in which this was effected 
evinced a striking mixture of avidity and suspicion. They 
came down to the beach, choosing the spot where the surf 
was breaking most violently, and insisted that the French 
boat should remain on the other side; a rope was then 
passed from it to the shore, and the different articles were 
swung along it. Strings of beads, toys, or mirrors, they 
utterly despised; but eagerly received knives, fishing-hooks, 
swords, saws, or anything in the shape of cutting-metal, to 
be used in war or in the chase, though such was their savage 
temper, that during the process of exchange they expressed 
their aversion to the strangers by uncouth gestures of con- 
tempt and derision. It seems probable that the country, 
now for the first time visited by Europeans, was the present 
province of Maine — as we are told by Verazzano, that a 
farther run of fifty leagues along the coast brought him to 
a cluster of thirty islands separated by narrow channels — 
a description which points out, in precise terms, the Bay of 
Penobscot.* 



* Murray's North America, vol. i. p. 79. The veracity of the Flo- 
rentine navigator, in his description of the ferocious habits of the natives, 
is strikingly corroborated by the determined and rancorous hostility 
evinced afterwards by the Indians of this district in opposing every 
attempt at settlement. 



32 VEKAZZANO. [1524. 

From this point he pursued his indefatigable course for one 
hundred and fifty leagues farther, till he reached the land 
already discovered, as he says, by the Britons, in the latitude 
of 50°, which is evidently Newfoundland. Here his provi- 
sions began to fail, and thinking it prudent to sail for France, 
he reached home in safety in the month of July 1524. 

Verazzano had thus completed the survey of a line of coast 
extending for seven hundred leagues, and embracing the 
whole of the United States, along with a large portion of 
British America. It was undoubtedly an enterprise of great 
magnitude and splendour, and deserves to be carefully re- 
corded, not only as comprehending one of the widest ranges 
of early discovery, but as making us for the first time ac- 
quainted with that noble country whose history is so 
important, and whose destinies, even after a progress un- 
rivalled in rapidity, appear at this moment only in their 
infancy. The Florentine gave to the whole region which 
he had discovered the name of New France ; he then laid 
before the king a plan for completing his survey of the 
coast, penetrating into the interior, and establishing a 
colony ; and he appears to have met with encouragement 
from Francis I., who embraced his proposals for coloniza- 
tion. From this moment, however, his history is involved 
in obscurity. Hakluyt affirms that he performed three 
voyages to North America, and gave a map of the coast to 
Henry VIII. The biographer of Cabot asserts, that he 
was the " Piedmontese pilot" who was slain on the coast 
of America in 1527,* not aware that Verazzano was a 
Florentine, and alive in 1537 ; and Ramusio could not 
ascertain the particulars of his last expedition, or even dis- 
cover in what year it took place. All that is certainly 
known is, that it proved fatal to this great navigator. 

* Memoir of Cabot, p. 278. 



1534.] CARTIER. 33 

Having landed incautiously upon the American coast, he 
and his party were surrounded and cut to pieces by the 
savages; after which they barbarously devoured them in 
the sight of their companions.* 

The death of Verazzano appears to have thrown a damp 
over the farther prosecution of discovery by the court of 
France; but at length, after an interval of ten years, 
Jacques Cartier, an enterprising and able mariner of St. 
Malo, was chosen by the Sieur de Melleraye, Vice- Admiral 
of France, to conduct a voyage to Newfoundland, which, 
since its discovery by Cabot, had been seldom visited, and 
was imperfectly known. Cartier departed from St. Malo 
on the 20th of April 1534, with two ships r each of 60 tons 
burden, and having on board a well-appointed crew of 
sixty-one men.-[- The voyage appears to have been limited 

* Such is the account of Eamusio in his Discourse upon New France, 
vol. iii. p. 417. But Cardenas, in a work entitled " Ensajo Cronologico 
para la Historia de la Florida" (p. 8), has committed an error similar to 
that of the writer of Cabot's Life. He believes that Verazzano was the 
same as Juan the Florentine, a pirate in the service of France, who was 
taken by the Spaniards in 1524, and hanged. The evidence which over- 
turns the theories of both these authors is to be found in a letter of 
Annibal Caro, quoted by Tiraboschi, Storia della Letteratura Ital., vol. 
vii. part i. pp. 261, 262, from which it appears that Verazzano was 
alive in 1537. Lettere Familiari del. Comm. Annibal Caro, vol. i. p. 11. 
In his great work, Tiraboschi has collected all that is known regarding 
the life of this eminent discoverer ; but this all i"> extremely little. He 
was born about the year 1485 ; his father was Pier Andrea Verazzano, a 
noble Florentine, his mother Fiametta Capelli. Of his youth, and for 
what reasons he entered into the service of Francis I., nothing is known. 
The only published work of Verazzano is the narrative in Eamusio, ad- 
dressed to Francis I., written with much simplicity and elegance. But 
in the Strozzi Library at Florence is preserved a manuscript, in which 
he is said to give, with great minuteness, a description of all the countries 
which he had visited during his voyage, and from which, says Tiraboschi, 
we derive the intelligence that he had formed the design of attempting a 
passage through these seas to the East Indies. It is much to be desired 
that some Italian scholar would favour the world with the publication of 
this MS. of Verazzano. 

f Eamusio, vol. iii. p. 435. 
C 



34 CARTIER. [1534. 

to a survey of the northern coast of Newfoundland, of which 
he gives a minute description, dwelling particularly on the 
zoological features of the country. He found the land, in 
most parts, extremely wild and barren, " insomuch that 
he did not see a cart-load of good earth ; and the inhabit- 
ants were of stout make, but wild and unruly." The} T 
wore their hair tied on the top like a bunch of hay, fixed 
with a wooden bodkin, and ornamented with birds' feathers. 
Like their companions whom Cabot had described, they 
were clothed in beasts' skins, and ornamented their bodies 
by painting them with roan-colours. They paddled about 
in boats made of the bark of birch trees, in which they 
carried on a constant trade of fishing, and caught great 
numbers of seals. After having almost circumnavigated 
Newfoundland, Cartier stood in towards the continent, and 
anchored in a bay, which, from the extreme heat, was de- 
nominated Baye du Chaleur. The description of the in- 
habitants of this spot is striking and interesting. " Taking 
our way," says he, " along the coast, we came in sight of 
the savages, who stood on the borders of a lake in the low 
grounds, where they had lighted their fires, which raised a 
great smoke. We went towards them, and found that an 
arm of the sea ran into the lake, into which we pushed 
with our boats. Upon this the savages approached in one 
of their little barks, bringing along with them pieces of 
roasted seals, which they placed upon wooden boards, and 
afterwards retired, making signs that this was intended as 
a present for us. We immediately put two men ashore, 
with hatchets, knives, garlands for the head, and such like 
wares. On seeing these articles they appeared much de- 
lighted, and crowded to the bank where we were, paddling 
their barks, and bringing skins and other articles, which 
they meant to exchange for our merchandise. Their num- 
ber, including men, women, and children, was upwards of 



1534.] CARTIER. 35 

three hundred. Some of the women, who would not venture 
nearer, stood up to the knees in water, singing and dancing. 
Others, who had passed over, came to us with great fami- 
liarity, rubbing our arms with their hands, which they 
afterwards lifted up to heaven, singing all the while, and 
making signs of joy; such at last was their friendliness and 
security, that they bartered away everything they had, and 
stood beside us quite naked; for they scrupled not to give 
us all that was on them, and indeed their whole wardrobe 
was not much to speak of. It was evident that this people 
might be, without difficulty, converted to our faith. They 
migrate from place to place, and subsist themselves by fish- 
ing. Their country is warmer than Spain, and as beauti- 
ful as can be imagined — level, and covered even in the 
smallest spots with trees, and this although the soil is 
sandy. It is full also of wild corn, which hath an ear 
similar to rye. We saw many beautiful meadows full of 
rich grass, and lakes where there were plenty of salmon. 
The savages called a hatchet, cochi; and a knife, bacon."* 
All the navigators who had hitherto visited Newfoundland, 
on reaching its northernmost point, appear to have sailed 
across the Straits of Belleisle to Cape Charles, upon the 
coast of Labrador; but the course of Cartier led him through 
the straits into the great Gulf of St. Lawrence, now for the 
first time visited by any European. His predecessor, 
Verazzano, after reaching the shore of the Bay of Fundy, 
had probably sailed along the coast of Nova Scotia until 
he reached Cape Breton. Cartier, on the contrary, saw 
before him a wide and extensive field of discovery to the 
west, which he pursued for some time, directing his course 
along the coast of the Bay of St. Lawrence ; but as the 
season was far advanced, and the weather became precari- 

* Rarnusio, vol. iii. p. 438. 



36 cartier's second voyage. [1535. 

cms, he determined to reserve a more complete examination 
of this unknown country for a second voyage, and returned 
safely to France, coming to anchor in the port of St. Malo 
upon the 5th of September 1534.* 

Having been received with favour and distinction, Car- 
tier, after a short interval, embarked upon a second voyage. 
His squadron consisted of three ships — the Great Hermina, 
of which Cartier himself was master, being a vessel of about 
120 tons; the Little Hermina, of 60 tons; and the Hermi- 
rillon, of 40 tons burden. The crews solemnly prepared 
themselves for their voyage by confession and the reception 
of the sacrament ; after which they entered in a body into 
the choir of the cathedral, and stood before the bishop, who 
was clothed in his canonicals, and devoutly gave them his 
benediction. Having fulfilled these rites, the fleet weighed 
anchor on the 15th of May 1535, and the admiral steered 
direct for Newfoundland. His ships, however, were soon 
after separated in a storm, and did not again join company 
till the 26th of June ; after which they proceeded to explore 
the large gulf which he had already entered. " It was," 
to use the words of the navigator himself, " a very fair 
gulf, full of islands, passages, and entrances to what wind 
soever you pleased to bend, having a great island like a 
cape of land stretching somewhat farther forth than the 
others." This island is evidently that named by the 
English Anticosti, being merety a corruption of Natiscotec, 
the appellation at this day given it by the natives. To the 
channel between it and the opposite coast of Labrador, 
Cartier gave the name of St. Lawrence, which has since 
been extended to the whole gulf. 

On reaching the eastern point of the island of Anticosti, 
the French, who had along with them two of the natives 



* Kamusio, vol. iii. p. 440. 



1535.] cartier's second voyage. 37 

of the country, whom they had induced in their former 
voyage to accompany them to France, requested their advice 
as to their farther progress. The savages stated, that the 
gulf in which they now lay gradually contracted its dimen- 
sions till it terminated in the mouth of a mighty river 
named Hochelaga, flowing from a vast distance in the 
interior of a great continent ; that two days' sail above 
Anticosti would bring them to the kingdom of Saguenay, 
beyond which, along the bank of the same river, was a 
populous territory, situated at its highest known point, 
where the stream was only navigable by small boats. 
Having received this information, Cartier sailed onwards, 
exploring both sides of the river, and opening a communi- 
cation with the inhabitants by means of the natives whom 
he carried along with him. The good effects of this arrange- 
ment were soon seen ; for at first they fled in great alarm 
upon the approach of any of the ships' crews ; but on hear- 
ing the interpreters cry out that they were Taignaogny and 
Domagaia — names which seemed to inspire immediate ideas 
of friendliness and confidence — they suddenly turned back ; 
after which they began to dance and rejoice, running away 
with great speed, and soon returning with eels, fishes, grain, 
and musk-melons, which they cast into the boats with ges- 
tures expressive of much kindness and courtesy."* This 
soon led to a more intimate and interesting intercourse; 
and on the following day the lord of the country, who was 
named Donnaconna, made a formal visit to the admiral's 
ship, accompanied by twelve boats, in which were a great 
multitude of his subjects. On approaching the vessel, he 
ordered ten of these boats to ship their paddles and remain 
stationary, while he himself, with the other two boats, and 
attended by a suite of sixteen of his subjects, advanced over 

* Ranrasio, vol. iii., p. 441. 



38 cartier's second voyage. [1535. 

against the smallest of the French ships, and standing up, 
commenced a long oration, throwing his body into a variety 
of strange and uncouth postures, which were afterwards 
discovered to he signs indicating gladness and security. 
Donnaconna now came aboard the admiral's ship, and an 
enthusiastic interview took place between him and the two 
savages who had been in France.* They recounted with 
much gesticulation the extraordinary things which they 
had seen in that country, dwelling on the kind entertain- 
ment they had experienced; and after many expressive 
looks of wonder and gratitude, the king entreated the admi- 
ral to stretch out his arm, which he kissed with devotion, 
laying it fondly upon his neck, and showing, by gestures 
which could not be mistaken, that he wished to make much 
of him. C artier, anxious to evince an equal confidence, 
entered Donnaconna' s boat, carrying with him a collation 
of bread and wine, with which the monarch was much 
pleased ; and the French, returning to their ships, ascended 
the river ten leagues, till they arrived at a village where 
this friendly potentate usually resided, and which was named 
Stadacona. " It was," according to the original account of 
Cartier, " as goodly a plot of ground as possibly might be 
seen, very fruitful, and covered with noble trees similar to 
those of France, such as oaks, elms, ashes, walnut trees, 
maple trees, citrons, vines, and white thorns which brought 
forth fruit like damsons, and beneath these woods grew as 
good hemp as any in France, without its being either planted 
or cultivated by man's labour."* 

From this time the intercourse between the French and 
Donnaconna continued with every expression of friendliness ; 
but on hearing that the admiral had determined to go to 
Hochelaga, a sudden jealousy appeared to seize him lest he 

* Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 443. Seconda Relatione di Jacques Cartier. 
f Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 216. 



1535.] CARTIER S SECOND VOYAGE. 39 

and his people should be deprived of the advantages of an 
uninterrupted communication with the white strangers, and 
every possible device was put in execution to deter them 
from their purpose. One of these stratagems was so ludi- 
crous, that we may be permitted to give Cartier's account 
of it in an abridgment of the quaint translation of Hakluyt : 
" The next day, being the 18th of September, these men 
still endeavoured to seek all means possible to hinder us 
from going to Hochelaga, and for this purpose devised a 
pretty guile : They went and dressed three men like devils, 
being wrapped in dogs' skins, white and black, with their 
faces besmeared as black as a coal, and horns upon their 
heads more than a yard long." These figures they caused 
to be secretly put into one of the boats, which they con- 
cealed within a winding of the wooded bay, waiting patiently 
for the tide. When the proper moment had arrived, a 
multitude of the boats, crowded with natives and conducted 
by Taignaogny, suddenly emerged from the creek ; on a 
signal given, the boat in which were the counterfeit devils 
came rushing out of its concealment, and the middlemost 
devil standing up, made a long oration, addressed to the 
French ships, of which of course every syllable was unin- 
telligible. " Then," to resume the words of Hakluyt, " did 
King Donnaconna with all his people pursue them, and lay 
hold on the boat and devils, who, so soon as the men were 
come to them, fell prostrate as if the}?- had been dead ; upon 
which they were taken up and carried into the wood, being 
but a stonecast off, at which time every one of the savages 
withdrew himself into the wood, and when there began to 
make a long discourse, so loud that it was easy for the 
French to hear them even in their ships. When this ora- 
tion or debate, which lasted for half an hour, was ended, 
Cartier and his crew espied Taignaogny and Domagaia 
coming towards them, holding their hands joined together, 



40 cartier's second VOYAGE. [1535. 

carrying their hats under their upper garment, showing a 
great admiration, and looking up to heaven. Upon this 
the captain hearing them, and seeing their gestures and 
ceremonies, asked them what they ailed, and what was 
happened or chanced anew, to which they answered that 
there were very ill tidings befallen, saying in their broken 
French, ' Nenni est il bon,' that is to say, it was not good. 
Our captain asked them again what it was, and then they 
answered that their god Cudraigny had spoken in Hoche- 
laga, and that he had sent those three devils to show unto 
them that there was so much ice and snow in that country, 
that whosoever went there should die ; which words when 
the French heard, they laughed and mocked them, saying 
that their god Cudraigny was but a fool and a noddie, for 
he knew not what he said or did. They bade them also 
carry their compliments to his messengers, and inform them 
that the god whom they served would defend them from all 
cold if they would only believe in him."* 

Having thus failed in the object intended to be gained by 
this extraordinary masquerade, the savages offered no farther 
opposition, and the French proceeded in their pinnace and 
two boats up the River St. Lawrence towards Hochelaga. 
They found the country on both sides extremely rich and 
beautifully varied, covered with fine wood, and abounding 
in vines, though the grapes, from want of cultivation, were 
neither so large nor so sweet as those of France. The 
prevalent trees were the same as in Europe — oaks, elms, 
walnut, cedar, fir, ash, box, and willow ; and the natives on 
each side of the river, who appeared to exercise principally 
the trade of fishermen, entered into an intercourse with the 
strangers as readily and kindly as if they had been their 
own countrymen. One of the lords of the country did not 



Haklnyt, vol. iii. p. 218 ; and Kamusio, vol. iii. p. 444. 



1535.] cartier's second voyage. 41 

scruple, after a short acquaintance, to make a present to 
Cartier of two of his children, one of whom, a little girl ol 
seven or eight years old, he carried away with him, whilst 
he returned the other, a boy, who was considered too young 
to travel. They saw great variety of birds, almost all of 
which were the same as those of Europe. Cranes, swans, 
geese, ducks, pheasants, partridges, thrushes, blackbirds, 
turtles, finches, red-breasts, nightingales, and sparrows of 
divers kinds, were observed, besides many other birds. 

By this time the river had become narrow, and in some 
places dangerous in its navigation, owing to the rapids ; and 
the French, who had still three days' sailing before them, 
left their pinnace and took to their boats, in which, after a 
prosperous passage, they reached the city of Hochelaga. 
It consisted of about fifty houses, built in the midst of large 
and fair corn-fields near a great mountain, which the French 
called Mont Royale, corrupted by time into Montreal, which 
name the place still retains ; whilst the original American 
designation of Hochelaga has been long since forgotten. 
The city, according to Cartier's description, was round, 
compassed about with timber, and with three courses of 
ramparts, one within another, framed like a sharp spire, 
but laid across above. The enclosure which surrounded 
the town was in height about two roods, having but one 
gate, which was shut with piles, stakes, and bars. Over 
it, and also in various parts of the wall, were places to run 
along, and ladders to get up, with magazines or heaps of 
stones for its defence. The houses were entirely of wood, 
with roofs of bark very artificially joined together. Each 
house had a court in the midst of it, and consisted of many 
rooms, whilst the family lighted their fire in the centre of 
the court, and during the day all lived in common ; at night 
the husbands, wives, and children, retired to their several 
chambers. At the top of the house were garners where 



42 cartier's second voyage. [1535. 

they kept their corn, which was something like the millet 
of Brazil, and called by them carracony. They had also 
stores of pease and beans, with musk-melons and great 
cucumbers. Many large butts were observed in their 
houses, in which they preserved their dried fish j but this, 
as well as all their other victuals, they dressed and ate 
without salt. They slept upon beds of bark spread on the 
ground, with coverings of skins similar to those of which 
their clothes were made.* 

The reception of the French by the inhabitants of Hoche- 
laga was in a high degree friendly ; and indeed such was 
the extent of their credulity and admiration, that they con- 
sidered the strangers as possessed of miraculous power, and 
their commander a divine person. This was shown by their 
bringing their king, Agonhanna, an infirm paralytic about 
fifty years of age, to be touched, and, as they trusted, cured 
by the admiral, earnestly importuning him by expressive 
gestures, to rub his arms and legs ; after which the savage 
monarch took the wreath or crown which he wore upon his 
head, and gave it to Cartier. Soon after this they brought 
with them all the diseased and aged folks whom they could 
collect, and besought him to heal them ; on which occasion 
his conduct appears to have been that of a man of sincere 
piety. He neither arrogated to himself miraculous powers, 
nor did he altogether refuse their earnest request ; but read, 
from the Gospel of St. John, the passion of our Saviour, 
and praying that the Lord would be pleased to open the 
hearts of these forlorn pagans, and teach them to know the 
truth, he laid his hands upon them, and making the sign of 
the cross, left the issue of their being healed or not in the 
hand of their Creator.-}- 



*" Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 445 ; and Hakluyt, vol. iii. pp. 220, 221. 
f Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 448. 



1535.J cartier's second voyage. 43 

On inquiring into their religious tenets, he found that 
they were buried in the deepest ignorance and superstition, 
unacquainted with the existence of the only true God, and 
substituting in his place a capricious and horrid being of 
their own imaginations, named Cudraigny. They affirmed 
that he often spoke to them, and told them what kind of 
weather they were to have; but, if angry, would punish 
them by throwing dust in their eyes. They had a strange 
and confused idea regarding the immortality of the soul, 
believing that after death they went to the stars, and de- 
scended like these bright sparks by degrees to the horizon, 
where they wandered about in delicious green fields, which 
were full of the most precious trees, and profusely sown 
with fruits and flowers. Cartier explained as well as he 
could the folly of such a creed, persuaded them that Cud- 
raigny was no god, but a devil, and at his departure pro- 
mised to return again, and bring some good and holy men, 
who would instruct them in the knowledge of the true and 
only God, and baptize them in the name of his Son, with 
which they declared themselves well pleased.* " There 
groweth here," says Cartier, " a certain kind of herb, of 
which during the summer they collect a great quantity for 
winter consumption, esteeming it much, and only permit- 
ting men to use it in the following manner : It is first 
dried in the sun; after which they wear it about their 
necks, wrapped in a little skin made in the shape of a bag, 
along with a hollow piece of stone or of wood formed like a 
pipe; after this they bruise it into a powder, which is 
put into one of the ends of the said cornet or pipe, 
and laying a coal of fire upon it at the other end, they 
suck so long that they fill their bodies full of smoke 
till it comes out of their mouth and nostrils, even as 

* Kamusio, vol. iii. p. 4-19. 



44 cartier's second VOYAGE. [1535. 

out of the tunnel of a chimney. They say that this 
keeps them warm and in health, and never go without 
some of it about them." It is not impossible that the 
reader, perplexed by this laboriously minute descrip- 
tion, may have failed to recognise in it the first acquaint- 
ance made by the French with the familiar and far-famed 
plant of tobacco.* 

Not long after this the ships' crews were seized with a 
loathsome and dreadful disease, caught, as they supposed, 
from the natives, which carried off twenty-five men, reduc- 
ing the survivors to a state of pitiable weakness and suf- 
fering. The malady was then new to Europeans ; but the 
symptoms detailed by C artier — swollen legs, extreme de- 
bility, putrified gums, and discoloration of the skin and 
blood — leave no doubt that this " strange, unknown," and 
cruel pestilence, was the scurvy, since so fatally familiar to 
the European mariner. Providentially, however, they dis- 
covered from the savages a cure in the decoction of the 
leaves and bark of a species of tree called in their lan- 
guage hannida, and since well known as the North Ame- 
rican white pine. " This medicine," says Cartier, u worked 
so well, that if all the physicians of Montpelier and Lou- 
vain had been there with all the drugs of Alexandria, they 
would not have done so much in one year as that tree did 
in six days."-f- 

The French began now to make preparations for their 
departure ; but a dishonourable plot was first carried into 
execution, by which they succeeded in seizing Donnaconna, 
whose usefulness and liberality to them during their resi- 
dence in Canada merited a more generous return. The 
monarch, however, with the exception of a slight personal 
restraint to prevent escape, was treated with kindness, and 

* liainusio, vol. iii. p. 449. f Ibid. p. 451. 



1536.] ROBERVAL. 45 

soon became reconciled to his journey to Europe, although 
his subjects, inconsolable for his loss, came nightly howling 
like wolves about the ships, till assured he was in safety. 
Along with Donnaconna were secured Taignaogny and 
Domagaia, who had already been in France; and after a 
prosperous voyage, the French ships arrived at St. Malo on 
the 6th July 1536.* It might have been expected that, 
after a discovery of such magnitude and importance, imme- 
diate measures would have been adopted to appropriate 
and colonize this fertile, populous, and extensive country. 
This seemed the more likely, as the arrival of C artier and 
the introduction of the Indian king at court created an 
extraordinary sensation; yet notwithstanding the manifest 
advantages, both commercial and political, likely to result 
from a settlement in Canada, the weak and shallow preju- 
dice which at this time prevailed in most of the nations 
of Europe, that no countries were valuable except such 
as produced gold and silver, threw a damp over the 
project, and for nearly four years the French monarch 
would listen to no proposals for the establishment of a 
colony. 

Private adventure at length came forward to accomplish 
that which had been neglected by royal munificence, and 
the Sieur de Roberval, a nobleman of Picardy, requested 
permission of Francis I. to pursue the discovery, and 
attempt to form a settlement in the country. This the 
king readily granted; and as Roberval was opulent, the 
preparations were made on a great scale. He was created 
by Francis, on the 15th January 1540, Lord of Norim- 
bega, Lieutenant- General and Viceroy in Canada, Hoche- 
laga, Saguenay, Newfoundland, Belleisle, Carpon, Labra- 
dor, the Great Bay, and Baccalaos — empty and ridiculous 



Ramusio, vol. in. p. 453. 



46 ROBERVAL. [1540. 

titles, which, if merited by any one, ought to have been 
conferred upon Cartier. This eminent navigator, however, 
was only permitted to accept a subordinate command ; and 
as Roberval, who wished to appear with splendour in his 
new dominions, was detained in fitting out two vessels 
which were his own property, Cartier was ordered to sail 
before him with the five ships already prepared. He 
accordingly did so; but Dormaconna, the Canadian king, 
had died in France, and the savages, justly incensed at 
the breach of faith by which they lost their sovereign, 
received the French with an altered countenance, devising 
conspiracies against them, that soon led to acts of open 
hostility. The French now built for their defence, near 
the present site of Quebec, a fort, which they named 
Charlesbourg, being the first European settlement formed 
in that part of America. After a long interval, Roberval 
arrived at Newfoundland ; but a jealousy had broken out 
between him and Cartier, who took the first opportunity 
during the night to part from his principal, and return with 
his squadron to France. This of course gave a death-blow 
to the whole undertaking, for Roberval was nothing with- 
out Cartier; and, after some unsuccessful attempts to dis- 
cover a passage to the East Indies, he abandoned the 
enterprise, and returned to his native country. The pas- 
sion for adventure, however, again seized him in 1549, 
and he and his brother, one of the bravest men of his time, 
set sail on a voyage of discovery; but they shared the 
fate of Verazzano and the Cortereals, being never again 
heard of. These disasters effectually checked the enthu- 
siasm of France, whilst in England, the country to whose 
enterprise we have seen Europe indebted for her first 
acquaintance with the American continent, the spirit of 
maritime discovery appeared for some years almost totally 
extinct. 




HERMAN CORTES. 
The bold and comprehensive mind of Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, not 
content with the acquisition of that noble empire, formed the most extensive 
projects of discovery. — Page 47 



i 



1537.] CORTES. 47 

The plan of this historical disquisition now leads us to 
the examination of some remarkable enterprises of the 
Spaniards for the extension of their immense dominions in 
the New World, along the more northern coasts of Ame- 
rica. The bold and comprehensive mind of Cortes, the 
conqueror of Mexico, not content with the acquisition of 
that noble empire, formed the most extensive projects of 
discovery. Alarmed at the attempts of the English to dis- 
cover a northern passage to China and Cathay, he resolved 
to make a careful survey of the whole coast, extending 
from the River Panuco in Mexico to Florida, and thence 
northwards to the Baccalaos, for the purpose of ascertaining 
whether there might not exist in that quarter a communi- 
cation with the South Sea. At the same time a squadron 
in the Pacific was to sail along the western coast of Ame- 
rica, and by these simultaneous researches he trusted to 
find a strait affording a far shorter and easier route to 
India and the Moluccas, and connecting together the vast 
dominions of the Spanish crown.* Charles V., to whom 
these proposals were presented, although willing to en- 
courage every scheme for the extension of his power, 
ungenerously threw upon their author the whole expense 
of the undertaking; in consequence of which, the idea of 
the voyage for the discovery of a north-west passage was 
abandoned, and the magnificent designs for the conquest 
of many great and opulent kingdoms sunk at last into the 
equipment of two brigantines on the coast of the South 
Sea, the command of which was intrusted to Diego de 
Hurtado. This expedition ended calamitously in a mutiny 
of one of the crews, who brought back their ship to 
Xalisco : the fate of Hurtado was still more unfortunate, 
for, although he continued his voyage, neither he nor any of 



* Eamusio, vol. Hi. p. 295. Memoir of Cabot, p. 263. 



48 DISCOVERY OF CALIFORNIA. [1539. 

his crew were ever more heard of. A second expedition, 
intrusted by Cortes to two Spanish captains, Grijalva and 
Mendoza, was scarcely more fortunate : The vessels were 
separated on the first night of their voyage, and never 
again joined company. Grijalva penetrated to an island 
which he denominated Santa Tome, supposed to have been 
situated near the northern point of California, after which 
he returned to Tehuantepec; whilst Mendoza, by his 
haughty and tyrannical temper, having rendered himself 
odious to his crew, was murdered by the pilot, Ximenes, 
who assumed the command. Afraid of returning to Mexico, 
the traitor sailed northward, and discovered the coast of 
California, where he was soon after attacked and slain, 
along with twenty of his crew, by the savage natives.* 

The survivors, however, brought the vessel back to 
Chiametta, with the tempting report that the coast abounded 
in perils. Cortes now set out himself with a squadron of 
three ships; and, although his vessels were dreadfully 
shattered in a storm, pursued his voyage with his accus- 
tomed energy, till compelled to return by a summons from 
Mexico, where the breaking out of serious disturbances 
required his immediate presence. He intrusted, however, 
the prosecution of the voyage to Francisco de Ulloa, and 
this enterprising navigator, though at first obliged by want 
of provisions to return to Mexico, re-victualled his ships, 
and again set sail. The pious solemnity with which these 
ancient mariners were accustomed to regard their proceed- 
ings, is strikingly shown by the first sentence of his journal: 
— "We embarked," says he, "in the haven of Acapulco, 
on the 8th of July, in the year of our Lord 1539, calling 
upon Almighty God to guide us with his holy hand to those 
places where he might be served, and his holy faith ad- 

* ITakluyt, vol. iii. p. 364; and Bamusio, Viaggi, vol. iii. p. 355 



1539.] ulloa. 49 

vanced ; and we sailed from the said port by the coast of 
Sacatula and Motin, which is sweet and pleasant, owing to 
the abundance of trees that grow there, and the rivers which 
pass through these countries, for which we often thanked 
God, their Creator." * A voyage of twenty days brought 
the squadron to the harbour of Colima, from which they set 
out on the 23d of August; and after encountering a tempest, 
in which their ships were severely shattered, they stood 
across the Gulf of California, and came to the mouth of the 
River St. Peter and St. Paul. On both sides of it were rich 
and extensive plains, covered with beautiful trees in full 
leaf; and farther within the land exceeding high mountains, 
clothed with wood, and affording a charming prospect; 
after which, in a course of fifteen leagues, they discovered 
two other rivers as great, or greater than the Guadalquiver, 
the currents of which were so strong that they might be 
discerned three leagues off at sea. 

Ulloa spent a year in examining the coasts and havens 
on each side of the Gulf of California. In some places the 
Spaniards found the inhabitants of great stature,-)- armed 
with bows and arrows, speaking a language totally distinct 
from anything they had hitherto heard in America, and 
admirably dexterous in diving and swimming. On one 
occasion the crews, who had landed, were attacked with 
fierceness by two squadrons of Indians. These natives were 
as swift as wild-goats, exceedingly strong and active, and 
leaped from rock to rock, assaulting the Spaniards with 
their arrows and javelins, which broke and pierced their 
armour, and inflicted grievous wounds. It is well known 
that this nation had introduced the savage practice of em- 
ploying bloodhounds in their wars against the Mexicans, 
and Ulloa now used some of these ferocious animals. The 

* Eamusio, vol. iii. p. 339. Murray's North America, vol. ii. p. 68. 
f Eamusio, vol. iii. p. 342. 
D 



50 ULLOA. [1540. 

Indians, however, discharged a shower of arrows against 
them, " by which," says Ulloa, " Berecillo, our mastiff, who 
should have assisted us, was grievously wounded by three 
arrows, so that we could by no entreaty get him to leave 
us ; the dog was struck in the first assault of the Indians, 
after he had behaved himself very gallantly, and greatly 
aided us, having set upon them and put eight or ten of them 
out of array. But the other mastiffs did us more harm than 
good, for when they attacked the Indians, they shot at them 
with their bows, and we received hurt and trouble in defend- 
ing them."* 

From this unfriendly coast the Spanish discoverer pro- 
ceeded to the Baya del Abad, about a hundred leagues dis- 
tant from the point of California, where he found a more 
pacific people, who, though they exhibited great symptoms 
of suspicion, were prevailed upon to traffic, exchanging 
pearls and parrots' feathers for the beads and trinkets of the 
strangers. So little, however, were they to be trusted, that 
they afterwards assaulted the ships' crews, compelling them 
to retreat to their vessels and pursue their voyage. They 
now discovered, in 28° north latitude, a great island, which 
they denominated the Isle of Cedars, taking possession of it 
in the name of the Spanish monarch. It was inhabited by 
a fierce race of Indians, powerful and well-made, and armed 
with bows and arrows, besides javelins, and long staves 
thicker than a man's wrist. With these they struck at the 
sailors, braving them with signs and rude gestures, till at 
last it was found necessary to let loose the tAvo mastiffs, 
Berecillo and Achillo ; upon which they suddenly took to 
flight, flying over the rough ground with the speed of wild 
horses. -f- Beyond this island the Spaniards attempted to 
continue their discoveries along the coast of California ; but 

* Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 409. Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 345. 
f Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 351. Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 419. 



1540.] ULLOA. 1 

a tempest having driven them back and damaged their 
vessels, they determined to return to New Spain. In their 
homeward voyage they were in danger from a new and 
extraordinary enemy ; for, when sailing in the main ocean 
at a rapid rate, above five hundred whales, in separate 
shoals, came athwart them within one hour's space. Their 
monstrous size created great astonishment, some of them 
approaching so near the ship, as to swim under the keel 
from one side to the other, " whereupon," says Francis 
Preciado, who wrote the relation of the voyage, " we were 
in great fear lest they should do us some hurt ; but they 
could not, because the ship had a prosperous and good wind, 
and made much way, so that it received no harm although 
they touched and struck her."* 

In this voyage, which for the first time made the world 
acquainted with the Gulf of California, or Sea of Cortes, 
Ulloa had not been able to spend sufficient time either in a 
survey of the coast, or in establishing an intercourse with 
the natives. But not long after his return, Mendoza, the 
viceroy of New Spain, despatched Friar Marco de Nica, 
upon an expedition of discovery from Culeacan, at that time 
the most northerly Spanish settlement, to a province called 
Topira, situated in the mountains. The account brought 
back of the riches and extent of the country, proved so 
tempting to the ambition of the Spaniards, that soon after 
Vasquez de Coronado, an officer of great courage and expe- 
rience, was appointed by Mendoza to the command of a 
large force, for the reduction of the new territory, whilst, to 
co-operate with this land expedition, a naval armament was 
fitted out, of which Ferdinand de Alarchon was appointed 
admiral, with orders to explore the Gulf of California. As 
far as conquest was intended, these mighty preparations 

* Hakluyt, vol. Hi. p. 424. 



52 ALARCHON. [1542. 

conducted to no permanent results ; but the voyage of Alar- 
chon led to some important discoveries. 

After a survey of the lower part of the coast of the gulf, 
he penetrated with much difficulty and hazard to the bottom 
of the bay, where he found a mighty river, flowing with so 
furious a current, that they could hardly sail against it.* 
This was evidently the noble river now known by the name 
of the Colorado, which has its rise in the great mountain- 
range near the sources of the Rio Bravo del Norte, and 
after a course of nine hundred miles falls into the head of 
the Gulf of California. Alarchon determined to explore it ; 
and taking with him two boats, with twenty men and some 
small pieces of artillery, he ascended to an Indian village, 
the inhabitants of which, by violent and furious gestures, 
dissuaded the Spaniards from landing. The party of natives, 
at first small, soon increased to a body of two hundred and 
fifty, drawn up in warlike fashion, with bows and arrows, 
and displayed banners. The Spanish admiral appeased 
them by signs, throwing his sword and target into the 
bottom of the boat, and placing his feet upon them. "They 
began," says he, in his letter to the viceroy Mendoza, " to 
make a great murmuring among themselves, when suddenly 
one came out from among them with a staff, upon which he 
had fixed some small shells, and entered into the water to 
give them to me. I took them, and made signs to him that 
he should approach. On his doing so I embraced him, 
giving him in exchange some trinkets, and he returning to 
his fellows, they began to look upon them and to parley 
together ; and within a while many of them cheerfully ap- 
proached, to whom I made signs that they should lay down 
their banners and leave their weapons; which they did 
immediately." Alarchon gives a minute description of the 

* Eamusio, Viaggi, vol. iii. p. 363. 



1542.] ALARCIION. 53 

dress, weapons, and appearance of these Indians. They 
were decked after sundry fashions : the faces of some were 
covered with tattooed marks, extending lengthwise from the 
forehead to the chin ; others had only half the face thus 
ornamented ; but all were besmeared with coal, and every 
one as it liked him best. Others carried vizards before 
them, which had the shape of faces.* They wore on their 
heads a piece of deerskin two spans broad, like a helmet, 
ornamented by various sorts of feathers stuck upon small 
sticks. Their weapons were bows and arrows, and two or 
three kinds of maces of wood hardened in the fire. Their 
features were handsome and regular, but disfigured by holes 
bored through the nostrils, and in many parts of the ears, 
on which were hung pendants, shells, and bones. About 
their loins was a girdle of divers colours, with a large bunch 
of feathers in the middle, which hung down like a tail. 
They cut their hair short before, but allowed it behind to 
grow down to their waist. Their bodies were tattooed with 
coals, and the women wore round their waist a great wreath 
of painted feathers, glued together, and hanging down both 
before and behind. f 

Having procured by signs a pacific reception from this 
new people, Alarchon found to his mortification that they 
did not understand his interpreter ; but after a little inter- 
course, observing that they worshipped the sun, he un- 
scrupulously intimated to them by significant gestures, that 
he came from that luminary; "upon which they marvelled," 
says he, " and began to survey me from top to toe, and 
showed me more favour than they did before." Soon after 
this a man was found among them who could speak the 
language of the interpreter ; and an intercourse of a very 

, %- 

* Such is the translation of Hakluyt ; but the passage in the original 
is obscure. 

f Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 364. 



54 ALAKCHON. [1542. 

extraordinary nature took place, in which the honesty and 
simplicity of the Indians are strikingly contrasted with the 
false and unprincipled policy of the Spaniards. The passage 
is uncommonly graphic and interesting : " The Indian first 
desired to know what nation we were, and whence we came ? 
"Whether we came out of the water, or inhabited the earth, 
or had fallen from the heaven?" To this the admiral re- 
plied, that they were Christians, and came from far to see 
them, being sent by the sun, to which he pointed. " After 
this introduction, the Indian," continues Alarchon in his 
account of the voyage, " began again to ask me how the 
sun had sent me, seeing he went aloft in the sky and never 
stood still, and for these many years neither they nor their 
oldest men had ever seen such as we were, and the sun till 
that hour had never sent any other. I answered him, it 
was true the sun pursued his course aloft in the sky, and 
never stood still, but nevertheless they might perceive that 
at his setting and rising he came near the earth, where his 
dwelling was, and that they always saw him come out of 
one place ; and he had created me in that land whence he 
came, in the same way that he had made many others whom 
he sent into other parts ; and now he had desired me to 
visit this same river, and the people who dwelt near it, that 
I might speak with them, and become their friend, and give 
them such things as they needed, and charge them not to 
make war against each other. On this he required me to 
tell them the cause why the sun had not sent me sooner to 
pacify the wars which had continued a long time among 
them, and wherein many had been slain. I told him the 
reason was, that I was then but a child. He next inquired 
why Ave brought only one interpreter with us who compre- 
hended our language, and wherefore we understood not all 
other men, seeing we were children of the sun? To which 
our interpreter answered, that the sun had also begotten 



1542.] ALARCHON. 55 

him, and given him a language to understand him, his 
master the admiral, and others; the sun knew well that they 
dwelt there, but because that great light had many other 
businesses, and because his master was but young, he sent 
him no sooner. The Indian interpreter," continues Alar- 
chon, " then turning to me, said suddenly, ' Comest thou, 
therefore, to be our lord, and that we should serve thee ?' 
To which I answered, I came not to be their lord, but 
rather their brother, and to give them such things as I had. 
He then inquired whether I was the sun's kinsman, or his 
child ? To which I replied I was his son, but those who 
were with me, though all born in one country, were not his 
children ; upon which he raised his voice loudly and said, 
' Seeing thou doest us so much good, and dost not wish us 
to make war, and art the child of the sun, we will all re- 
ceive thee for our lord, and always serve thee ; therefore we 
pray thee not to depart hence and leave us.' After which he 
suddenly turned to the people, and began to tell them that 
I was the child of the sun, and therefore they should all 
choose me for their lord."* The Indians appeared to be 
well pleased with this proposal, and assisted the Spaniards 
in their ascent of the river to the distance of eighty-five 
leagues ; but finding it impossible to open a communication 
with the army under Coronado, Alarchon put about his 
ships, and returned to Mexico.-j- 

After the expeditions of Coronado and Alarchon in 1542, 
the spirit of enterprise amongst the Spaniards experienced 
some check, owing probably to the feeling of mortification 
and disappointment which accompanied the return of these 
officers. Yet Mendoza, unwilling wholly to renounce the 
high hopes he had entertained, despatched a small squadron 
under Rodriguez Cabrillo, which traced the yet undiscovered 

* Hakluyt, vol. iii. t). 429. Kamusio, vol. iii. p. 356. 
f Hakluyt, vol. iii. pp. 438, 439. 



56 DE FUCA. [1602. 

coast of North America some degrees beyond Cape Mendo- 
cino; and in 1596 and 1602, Sebastian Viscaino extended 
these discoveries along the coast of New Albion to a river 
which appears to have been the present Columbia. It has 
even been asserted by some authors, that, four years prior 
to the voyage of Viscaino, Juan de Fuca, a veteran Spanish 
pilot, conducted a ship beyond the mouth of the Columbia, 
and doubling Cape Flattery, entered the Straits of Georgia, 
through which he passed till he came to Queen Charlotte's 
Sound. De Fuca imagined, not unnaturally, considering 
the imperfect and limited state of geographical knowledge, 
that he had now sailed through the famous and fabulous 
Strait of Anian; and that, instead of being in the Pacific, 
as he then actually was, he had conducted his vessel into 
the spacious expanse of the Atlantic. With this informa- 
tion he returned to Acapulco; but the Spanish viceroy 
received him coldly, and withheld all encouragement or 
reward — a circumstance to which we may perhaps ascribe 
the cessation from this period of all farther attempts at 
discovery by this nation upon the north-west coast of Ame- 
rica. The whole voyage of De Fuca, however, rests on 
apocryphal authority. 



CHAPTEK II. 

Russian and English Voyages. 

Behring — Tchirikow — Cook — and Clerke — Meares — Vancouver — 
Kotzebue. 

As the zeal oi the Spanish Government in extending their 
discoveries upon the north-west coast of America abated, 
another great nation, hitherto scarcely known to Europe, 



1717.] PETER THE GREAT. 57 

undertook at a later period the task which they had aban- 
doned. Russia, within little more than half a century, had 
grown up from a collection of savage, undisciplined, and 
unconnected tribes, into a mighty people. Her conquests 
had spread with amazing rapidity till they embraced the 
whole of the north of Asia, and under the energetic admin- 
istration of Peter the Great, this empire assumed at once 
that commanding influence in the scale of European nations 
which it has continued to preserve till the present times. 
Amongst the many great projects of this remarkable man, 
the solution of the question, whether Asia, on the north- 
east, was united with America, occupied a prominent place; 
and it appears that during his residence in Holland in 1717, 
he had been solicited by some of the most eminent patrons 
of discovery amongst the Dutch to institute an expedition 
to investigate the subject. The resolution he then formed, 
to set this great point at rest by a voyage of discovery, 
was never abandoned; but his occupation in war, and the 
multiplicity of those state affairs which engrossed his atten- 
tion, caused him to delay its execution from year to year, 
till he was seized with his last illness. Upon his death- 
bed he wrote, with his own hand, instructions to Admiral 
Apraxin, and an order to have them carried into immediate 
execution. They directed, first, that one or two boats with 
decks should be built at Kamtschatka, or at any other con- 
venient place; secondly, that with these a survey should 
be made of the most northerly coasts of his Asiatic empire, 
to determine whether they were or were not contiguous to 
America; and, thirdly, that the persons to whom the expe- 
dition was entrusted should endeavour to ascertain whether 
on these coasts there was any port belonging to Europeans, 
and keep a strict look-out for any European ship, taking 
care also to employ some skilful men in making inquiries 
regarding the name and situation of the coasts which they 



58 BEHRING AND TCHIRIKOW. [17z5. 

discovered — of all which they were to keep an exact jour- 
nal, and transmit it to St. Petersburg. 

Upon the death of Peter the Great, which happened 
shortly after these instructions were drawn up, the Empress 
Catherine entered fully into his views, and gave orders to 
fit out an expedition for their accomplishment. The com- 
mand was intrusted to Captain Vitus Behring. Under his 
orders were two lieutenants, Martin Spangberg and Alexi 
Tchirikow; and, besides other subaltern officers, they en- 
gaged several excellent ship-carpenters. On the 5th of 
February 1725 they set out from St. Petersburg, and on 
the 16th March arrived at Tobolsk, the capital of Siberia. 
After a survey of the rivers Irtisch, Ob, Ket, Jenesei, Tun- 
gusca, and Ilim, they wintered at Him, and, in the spring of 
1726, proceeded down the river Lena to Jakutzk. The 
naval stores and part of the provisions were now intrusted 
to Lieutenant Spangberg, who embarked on the Juduma, 
intending to sail from it into the Maia, and then by the 
Aldan into the Lena. He was followed by Captain Behring, 
who proceeded by land with another part of the stores, whilst 
Lieutenant Tchirikow stayed at Jakutzk, with the design 
of transporting the remainder overland. The cause of this 
complicated division of labour was the impassable nature 
of the country between Jakutzk and Ochotzk, which is 
impracticable for waggons in summer, or for sledges during 
winter. Such, indeed, were the difficulties of transporting 
these large bales of provisions, that it was the 30th July 
1727 before the whole business was completed. In the 
meantime a vessel had been built at Ochotzk, in which the 
naval stores were conveyed to Bolscheretzkoi in Kamts- 
chatka. From this they proceeded to Nischnei Kamts- 
chatkoi Ostrog, where a boat was built similar to the 
packet-boats used in the Baltic. After the necessary 
articles were shipped, Captain Behring, determining no 



1727.] behring's first voyage. 59 

longer to delay the most important part of his enterprise, 
set sail from the mouth of the River Kamtschatka on the 
14th of July, steering north-east, and for the first time 
laying down a survey of this remote and desolate coast. 
When they reached the latitude of 64° 30', eight men of 
the wild tribe of the Tschuktschi pushed off from the coast 
in a leathern canoe, called a baidar, formed of seal- skins, 
and fearlessly approached the Russian ship. A communi- 
cation was immediately opened by means of a Koriak in- 
terpreter; and, on being invited, they came on board with- 
out hesitation. By these natives Behring was informed 
that the coast turned towards the west. On reaching the 
promontory called Serdze Kamen, the accuracy of this 
information was established, for the land was seen extend- 
ing a great way in a western direction — a circumstance 
from which Behring somewhat too hastily concluded, that 
he had reached the extremest northern point of Asia. 
He was of opinion that thence the coast must run to the 
west, and therefore no junction with America could take 
place. Satisfied that he had now fulfilled his orders, he 
returned to the River Kamtschatka, and again took up his 
winter- quarters at Nischnei Kamtschatkoi Ostrog.* 

In this voyage it was conjectured by Behring and his 
officers, from the reports of the Kamtschadales, that in all 
probability another country must be situated towards the 
east, at no great distance from Serdze Kamen; yet no im- 
mediate steps were taken either to complete the survey of 
the most northerly coasts of Ochozkoi, or to explore the 
undiscovered region immediately opposite the promontory. 
In the course of a campaign, however, against the fierce 
and independent nation of the Tschuktschi, Captain Paw- 
lutzki penetrated by the Rivers Nboina, Bela, and Tcherna, 

* Harris's Collection of Voyages, vol. ii. pp. 1020, 1021; Coxe's 
Russian Discoveries, pp. 23, 24, 94. 



60 PAWLUTZKl's EXPEDITION. [1741. 

to the borders of the Frozen Sea; and, after defeating the 
enemy in three battles, passed in triumph to a promontory 
supposed to be the Tgchukotzkoi Noss. From this point 
he sent part of his little army in canoes, whilst he himself 
conducted the remaining division by land round the pro- 
montory, taking care to march along the sea-coast, and to 
communicate every evening with his canoes. In this man- 
ner Pawlutzki reached the promontory which is conjectured 
to have been the farthest limit of Behring' s voyage, and 
thence by an inland route returned, on 21st October 1730, 
to Anadirsk, having advanced an important step in ascer- 
taining the separation between America and the remote 
north-westerly coast of Asia. 

Although the separation of the two continents had been 
thus far fixed, a wide field of discovery yet remained unex- 
plored; and in 1741, Behring, Spangberg, and Tchirikow, 
once more volunteered their services for this purpose. 
These offers were immediately accepted; the captain was 
promoted to the rank of a commander, the two lieutenants 
were made captains, and instructions drawn up for the con- 
duct of the expedition, in which it was directed that the 
destination of the voyages should be eastward to the con- 
tinent of America, and southward to Japan, whilst, at the 
same time, an endeavour was to be made for the discovery 
of that northern passage through the Frozen Sea which 
had been so repeatedly but unsuccessfully attempted by 
other European nations. The voyage to Japan, under the 
command of Captain Spangberg and Lieutenant Walton, 
was eminently successful; and one of its material results 
was the correction of a geographical error of considerable 
magnitude, by which that island had hitherto been placed 
under the same meridian as Kamtschatka instead of 11° 
more to the westward. The expedition of Behring, no less 
important and satisfactory, was destined to be fatal to its 



1741.] beiiring's second voyage. 61 

excellent commander. After a winter spent in the harbour 
of Awatscha, or Petropalauska, on the west side of the great 
peninsula of Kamtschatka, Behring got his stores on board 
the two packet-boats built at Ochotzk, expressly for the 
intended American discoveries. The first of these, the St. 
Peter, was that in which the commander embarked; the 
second, the St. Paul, was intrusted to Captain Tchirikow. 
Along with Behring went Lewis de Lisle de la Croyere, 
Professor of Astronomy, whilst Mr. George William Stel- 
ler, an experienced chemist and botanist, accompanied 
Tchirikow. 

All things being ready, a council of officers was held, in 
which the question regarding the course they should steer 
was considered, and it happened, unfortunately for the ex- 
pedition, that an important error had crept into the map 
presented by the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg 
to the Senate, in laying down a coast south-east from 
Awatscha, extending fifteen degrees from west to east, 
whilst no land was marked due east. At this spot were 
written on the map the words " Land seen by Don Jean 
de Gama;" and, trusting to the accuracy of this information, 
it was determined to steer first south-east by east, in the 
hope of discovering this continent; after which they might 
follow its coasts as a guide towards the north and east. 
On the 4th of June 1741 they accordingly weighed anchor, 
and steered south-east by south, till, on the 12th, they found 
themselves in latitude 46°, without the slightest appearance 
of the coast of De Gama. Convinced at last of their error, 
they held on a northerly course as far as 50° north latitude, 
and were just about to steer due east, with the hope of 
reaching the continent of America, when the two ships 
were separated in a violent storm accompanied by a thick 
fog. Behring exerted every effort to rejoin his consort; 
but all proved in vain. He cruised for three days between 



62 BEHRING AND TCHIRIKOW: [1741. 

50° and 51° north latitude, after which he steered back to 
the south-east as far as 45° ; but Tchirikow, after the storm, 
had taken an easterly course from 48° north latitude, so 
that they never met again. 

Both, however, pursued their discoveries simultaneously, 
and on the 15th of July, being in 56° north latitude, Tchiri- 
kow reached the coast of America. The shore proved to 
be steep and rocky, and in consequence of the high surf, 
he did not venture to approach it; but anchoring in deep 
water, despatched his mate, Demetiew, with the long-boat 
and ten men, on shore. The boat was provisioned for some 
days, the men armed and furnished with minute instruc- 
tions as to their mode of proceeding, and the signals by 
which they were to communicate with the ship. But nei- 
ther mate, men, nor barge, were ever again heard of. This 
was the more mysterious, as all at first appeared to go well 
with them. The barge was seen from the ship to row into 
a bay behind a small cape, and the appointed signals were 
made, intimating that she had landed in safety. Day after 
day the signals agreed on continued from the shore. The 
people on board began at last to think that the barge had 
probably received damage in landing, and could not re- 
turn till she was repaired; and it was resolved to send the 
small boat on shore, with the boatswain Sawelow and six 
men. Amongst these were some carpenters and a careener, 
well armed and provided with the necessary materials; 
and the boatswain had orders to return with Demetiew in 
the long-boat the moment the necessary repairs were com- 
pleted. But neither mate nor boatswain ever came back; 
and the most dark surmises of their fate were excited by 
the cessation of the signals, and the continual ascent of a 
large volume of smoke from the landing-place. Next day, 
however, a revival of hope was felt at the sight of tw* 
boats which were observed rowing from the land towards 



1741.] THEIR SECOND VOYAGE. 63 

the ship. It was believed to be Demetiew and Sawelow; 
and Tchirikow ordered all hands on deck, to prepare for 
setting sail on a moment's warning. A few minutes 
changed these cheerful anticipations into sorrow; for, as 
the boats approached, it was discovered that they were 
filled by American savages, who, seeing many persons 
on deck, instantly shipped their paddles and remained at a 
cautious distance. They then stood up, and crying with a 
loud voice " Agai, agai!" returned with great speed to the 
shore. A strong west wind now rose, and threatened to 
dash the vessel on the rocky coast, so that they were obliged 
to weigh anchor and put to sea without the slightest hope 
of hearing any farther intelligence of their men ; for they 
had no more small boats, and all communication with the 
shore was cut off. Tchirikow, however, cruised some days 
in the neighbourhood, and when the weather became milder, 
returned towards the spot where his people landed ; but all 
appeared silent, lonely, and uninhabited ; and in a council 
of the officers, it was determined to set out on their return, 
though with the most poignant regret at being obliged to 
leave this remote and desolate coast without hearing the 
slightest account of their companions. They arrived at 
Kamtschatka on the 27th of July.* No news of the fate 
of Demetiew and Sawelow ever reached Russia ; but it is 
evident that they had been successively attacked and mur- 
dered by the savages. "The natives of this part of the 
north-west coast of America," says Captain Burney, "live 
principally by hunting and catching game, in which occu- 
pations they are in the continual practice of every species 
of decoy. They imitate the whistlings of birds, — they 
have carved wooden masks resembling the heads of animals, 
which they put on over their own, and enter the woods in 



* Muller, Decouvertes faites par les Busses, vol. i. p. 244. 



64 BEHRING AND TCHIRIKOW : [1741. 

masquerade. They had observed the signals made to the 
ship by the Russian boat which first came to land ; and the 
continuance of signals afterwards seen and heard by the 
Russians onboard were doubtless American imitations."* 

Exactly three days after Tchirikow descried land, it 
appears that Commodore Behring also got sight of the 
continent in 58° 28", or, according to another account 60° 
north latitude. The prospect was magnificent and awful, 
exhibiting high mountains covered from the summits with 
snow. One of these, far inland, was particularly remarked: 
It was plainly discernible sixteen German miles out at sea; 
and Steller says in his journal, that in all Siberia he had 
not met with a more lofty mountain.-]- The commodore, 
being much in want of water, approached the coast with 
the hope of being able to land. He accordingly reached 
the shore on the 20th July, and anchored under a large 
island not far from the continent. A point of land projecting 
into the sea at this place they called St Elias. Cape, as it 
was discovered on that saint's day; whilst another headland 
was denominated St. Hermogenes ; and between these lay a 
bay, in which, if it became necessary to take shelter, they 
trusted they would find security. Two boats were now 
launched, in the first of which, Kytrof, the master of the 
fleet, was sent to examine the bay, whilst Steller proceeded 
with the other to fetch water. Kytrof found a convenient 
anchorage; and on an adjacent island were a few empty 
huts formed of smooth boards, ornamented in some places 
with rude carving. Within the huts they picked up a small 
box of poplar, a hollow earthen ball in which a stone rattled, 
conjectured to be a child's toy, and a whetstone, on which it 
appeared that copper knives had been sharpened.:): Steller, 



* Burney's History of North-eastern Voyages of Discovery, p. 180. 

f Ibid. p. 164. 

X Coxe's Russian Discoveries, pp. 42, 43. 



1741.] THEIR SECOND VOYAGE. 65 

on the other hand, near the spot where he landed, discovered 
a cellar in which was a store of red salmon, and a sweet 
herb dressed for food in the same manner as in Kamts- 
chatka. Near them were ropes, and various pieces of 
household furniture and of domestic utensils. At a short 
distance he came to a place where the savages had recently 
dined; beside which they found an arrow, and an instru- 
ment for procuring fire exactly similar to that used for the 
same purpose in Kamtschatka. The sailors who fetched 
the fresh water had found two fire-places with the ashes 
newly extinguished, and near them a parcel of hewn wood, 
with some smoked fishes like large carp. They observed 
also marks of human footsteps in the grass, but no natives 
were seen. In case, however, they should return, some 
small presents, such as it was conjectured might be suited 
to their taste or their wants, were left in the huts. These 
consisted of a piece of green glazed linen, two iron kettles, 
two knives, two iron Chinese tobacco-pipes, a pound of 
tobacco leaves, and twenty large glass beads. Steller, an 
enthusiastic naturalist, entreated that he might have the 
command of the small boat and a few men, to complete a 
more accurate survey of this new coast ; but Behring, who 
was from his advanced age rather timid and over- cautious, 
put a decided negative upon the proposal ; and his scientific 
companion, having climbed a steep rock to obtain a view 
of the adjacent country, found his progress interrupted by 
an immediate order to come aboard. " On descending the 
mountain," says he in his journal, "which was overspread 
with a forest without any traces of a road, finding it im- 
passable, I reascended, looked mournfully at the limits of 
my progress, turned my eyes towards the continent which 
it was not in my power to explore, and observed at the 
distance of a few versts some smoke ascending from a 
wooded eminence. * * * Again receiving a posi- 

£ 



66 BEHRING AND TCHIEIKOW : [1741. 

tive order to join the ship, I returned with my collec- 
tion."* 

Having put to sea next day, the 21st of July, they 
found it impossible, according to their original intention, to 
explore the coast as far as 65° north latitude, as it seemed 
to extend indefinitely to the south-west. It was studded 
with many small islands, the navigation through which, 
especially during the night, was dangerous and tedious. 
On the 30th of July they discovered, in latitude 56°, an 
island, which they called Tumannoi Ostrog, or Foggy 
Island ; and soon after the scurvy broke out with the most 
virulent symptoms in the ship's crew : so that, in hopes of 
procuring water, they again ran to the north, and soon dis- 
covered the continent, with a large group of islands near 
the shore, between which they came to anchor. These 
they called the Schumagins, after the name of one of their 
men who died there. Whilst at this anchorage the weather 
became boisterous, and some brackish water procured from 
one of the largest islands increased the virulence of the dis- 
ease, which prevailed to an alarming degree. All attempts 
to put to sea proved for some days unsuccessful, owing to 
the strong contrary winds ; and at length one morning they 
were roused by a loud cry from one of the islands, upon 
which they saw a fire burning. Soon after, two Americans 
rowed towards the ship in their canoes, which in shape 
resembled those of Greenland and Davis' Strait. They 
stopped, however, at some distance, and it was discovered 
that they not only understood the language of the Calumet, 
or Pipe of Peace, employed by the North American Indians, 
but had these symbolical instruments along with them. 
They were sticks with hawks' wings attached to one end. 
It was at first impossible to induce the natives to come on 

* Coxe's Russian Discoveries, pp. 40, 41. 



1741.] THEIR SECOND VOYAGE. 67 

board ; and Behring, anxious to establish a communication, 
and to become acquainted with the country, despatched 
Lieutenant Waxel in the boat, with nine men well armed, 
amongst whom was a Tschuktschian or Koriak interpreter. 
It was found, however, that the savages were utterly igno- 
rant of his language ; and Waxel having sent some men 
on shore, who fastened the boat by a long rope passed 
round a rock on the beach, commenced a friendly inter- 
course by means of signs. The Americans were disposed 
to be on the most amicable terms with their new acquaint- 
ances, giving them whales' flesh, the only provision they 
appeared to possess ; and at last one of them so far over- 
came his fears as to join the Russian lieutenant in the boat, 
which still lay a little way from the shore. Anxious to 
conciliate his favour and treat him with distinction, Waxel 
somewhat thoughtlessly presented him with a cup of brandy j 
but the effect proved the reverse of what was expected. He 
made the most ludicrous wry faces, spit violently out of his 
mouth all that he had not swallowed, and cried aloud to his 
companions on the shore, complaining of the treatment he 
had experienced. " Our men," says Mr. Steller in his 
journal, " thought the Americans had sailors' stomachs, and 
endeavoured to remove his disgust by presenting him with 
a lighted pipe of tobacco, which he accepted; but he was 
equally disgusted with his attempt to smoke. The most 
civilized European would be affected in the same manner if 
presented with toad- stool, or rotten fish and willow bark, 
which are delicacies with the Kamtschadales." It was evi- 
dent he had never tasted ardent spirits or smoked tobacco 
till this moment ; and although every effort was made to 
soothe him and restore his confidence, by offering him needles, 
glass beads, an iron kettle, and other gifts, he would accept 
of nothing, and made the most eager and imploring signs 
to be set on shore. In this it was judged right to gratify 



68 BEHRING A.ND TCHIRIKOW : [1741. 

him, and Waxel, at the same time, called out to the sailors 
who were on the beach to come back; the Americans made 
a violent attempt to detain them, but two blunderbusses 
were fired over their heads, and had the effect of making 
them fall flat on the ground, whilst the Russians escaped 
and rejoined their companions. 

This adventure gave them an opportunity of examining 
this new people, now for the first time visited by Europeans. 
" The islanders were of moderate stature, but tolerably well 
proportioned ; their arms and legs very fleshy. Their hair 
was straight, and of a glossy blackness ; their faces brown 
and flat, but neither broad nor large; their eyes were 
black, and their lips thick and turned upwards ; their necks 
were short, their shoulders broad, and their bodies thick, 
but not corpulent. Their upper garment was made of 
whales' intestines, their breeches of seals' skins, and their 
caps formed out of the hide of sea-lions, adorned with 
feathers of various birds, especially the hawk. Their nos- 
trils were stopped with grass, and their noses as flat as 
Calmucks' ; their faces painted, some with red, others with 
different colours ; and some of them, instead of caps, wore 
hats of bark, coloured green and red, open at the top, and 
shaped like candle- screens, apparently for protecting the 
eyes against the rays of the sun. These hats might lead 
us to suppose that the natives of this part of America are 
of Asiatic descent; for the Kamtschadales and Koriaks 
wear the like, of which several specimens may be seen in 
the Museum at St. Petersburg."* 

At this time, Behring being confined by severe sickness, 
the chief command fell on Waxel, who was preparing to 
sail, when seven Americans came in their boats to the 
ship's side, and two of them, catching hold of the entrance- 

* Coxe's Russian Discoveries, p. 63. 



1741.] THEIR SECOND VOYAGE. 69 

ladder, presented their bonnets, and a carved image of bone, 
bearing some resemblance to a human figure. They like- 
wise held up the calumet, and would have come aboard, but 
the sailors were taking up the anchor, and the breeze fresh- 
ening, they were under the necessity of making towards the 
shore as quickly as possible. There was time, however, to 
give a few presents, and as the ship passed by the point 
where they stood, she was saluted with loud and friendly 
shouts.* 

They had now to struggle against a tedious continuance 
of westerly winds, accompanied with thick fogs, which ren- 
dered the navigation in these unknown seas perilous in the 
extreme. On the 24th of September the mist cleared away, 
and disclosed a high and desolate coast, which a strong 
south wind made it dangerous to approach. The majority 
of the crew were by this time disabled by the scurvy, and 
the rest so weak, that to manage the vessel during the 
tempestuous weather was almost impossible. A violent 
gale soon after began to blow from the west, which gradu- 
ally increased, and drove the ship far to the south-east. 
The storm continued for seventeen days — a fact to which 
there are few parallels in the history of shipwrecks j and 
the pilot, Andrew Hesselberg, who had served for fifty 
years in several parts of the world, declared he had never 
witnessed so long and terrible a gale. Meanwhile they 
carried as little sail as possible, and were driven for a fort- 
night at the mercy of the wind, under a sky as black as 
midnight, so that all the time they saw neither sun nor 
stars. When the storm abated, they found themselves, by 
the ship's reckoning, in 48° 18" north latitude. Steller, 
in his journal, draws a striking picture of their extreme 
misery : — " The general distress and mortality," says he, 

* Burney's North-Eastern Voyages of Discovery, p. 170. 



70 BEHRING AND TCHIRIKOW : [1741. 

" increased so fast, that not only the sick died, but those 
who still struggled to be numbered on the healthy list, 
when relieved from their posts, fainted and fell down dead, 
of which the scantiness of water, the want of biscuits and 
brandy, cold, wet, nakedness, vermin, fear, and terror, 
were not the least causes."* In these circumstances, it be- 
came difficult to determine whether they should return to 
Kamtschatka or seek a harbour on the nearest American 
coast. At last, in a council of officers, they embraced the 
first of these alternatives, and again sailed north, after 
which they steered towards the west. 

On the 29th of October they approached two islands re- 
sembling the two first of the Kurilian group. The long- 
wished-for coast of Kamtschatka, however, did not appear, 
and the condition of the vessel and crew began to be 
deplorable. The men, notwithstanding their diseased 
state and want of proper food, were obliged to work in the 
cold ; and as the continual rains had now changed into hail 
and snow, and the nights shortened and grew darker, their 
sufferings were extreme. The commodore himself had 
been for some time totally disabled by disease from taking 
an active command, his wonted energy and strength of 
mind left him, and he became childishly suspicious and 
indolent. Amongst the seamen the sickness was so dread- 
ful, that the two sailors whose berth used to be at the 
rudder, were led to it by others, who themselves could 
walk with difficulty. When one could steer no longer, 
another equally feeble was supported to his place. Many 
sails they durst not hoist, because no one was strong 
enough to lower them in case of need, whilst some of the 
sheets were so thin and rotten, that a violent wind would 
have torn them to pieces. The rest of this interesting but 

* Coxe's Russian Discoveries, p. 65. 



1741.] THEIR SECOND VOYAGE. 71 

deeply affecting voyage may be given in the excellent 
abstract of Captain Burney : — " On November 4th, at eight 
in the morning, they once more saw land; but only the 
tops of the mountains at first appeared, and the shore was 
so distant, that although they stood towards it the whole 
day, night came on before they could get near enough to 
look for anchorage. At noon that day they made their 
latitude by observation to be 56° north. On the morning 
of the 5th, it was discovered that almost all the shrouds on 
the starboard side of the ship were broken, which happened 
from contraction and tenseness caused by the frost; for, 
without other mention made of the weather, it is com- 
plained that the cold was insupportable. In this distress, 
the commodore ordered the lieutenant to call all the 
officers together, to consult on their best mode of pro- 
ceeding; and the increased numbers of the sick, with the 
want of fresh water, determined them at all hazards to 
seek relief at this land. The wind was northerly, and 
they had soundings at the depth of thirty- seven fathoms, 
with a sandy bottom. They now steered in towards the 
land, west- south-west and south-west, and two hours after, 
at five in the evening, they anchored in twelve fathoms, the 
bottom sand, and veered out three-quarters of a cable. The 
sea now began to run high, and at six the cable gave way. 
Another anchor was let go, yet the ship struck twice, 
though they found by the lead five fathoms depth of water. 
The cable quickly parted; and it was fortunate a third 
anchor was not ready, for whilst they were preparing it, a 
high wave threw the ship over a bank of rocks, where all at 
once she was in still water. They now dropt their anchor in 
four fathoms and a half, about six hundred yards from the 
land, and lay quiet during the rest of the night; but in the 
morning they found themselves surrounded with rocks and 
breakers. They were certain that the coast of Kamts- 



72 BEHRING AND TCHIRIKOW : ("1741. 

chatka was not far distant; but the condition of the ship 
and the crew, with the advanced season of the year, ren- 
dered it apparent that they must remain upon this land all 
winter. Those who were able to work went on shore to 
prepare lodgings for the sick. This they accomplished by 
digging pits or caverns between some sand-hills near a 
brook which ran from a mountain to the sea, using their 
sails as a temporary covering. There was no appearance 
of inhabitants ; nor were any trees seen, although drift- 
wood was found along the shore. No grass nor anti- scor- 
butic herbs were discoverable; the island, indeed, was so 
deeply covered with snow, that even if it produced any 
antiseptic plants, the patients had not strength to lay them 
open; and at this time the Russians were little acquainted 
with the proper remedies for this dreadful disease. On the 
8th of November they began to transport the sick to the 
miserable habitations which had been prepared for them ; 
and it was remarkable that some who seemed the least re- 
duced expired the moment they were exposed to the fresh 
air, and others in making an attempt to stand upon deck."* 
On the 9th of November, Behring himself was carried 
ashore by four men on a hand-barrow, carefully secured 
from the air. The ship had been cast on the east side of 
the island, and the coast was examined both to the north 
and south ; but no traces of inhabitants were found. Along 
the shores were many sea- otters, and the interior swarmed 
with blue and white foxes. " We saw," says Steller in his 

* " It must," says Captain Burney, " be within the memory of many, 
the great care with which the apartments of the sick were guarded 
against the admission of fresh air, and in few instances more than in what 
was called the sick-berth on board a ship of war, where it was customary 
to keep a number of diseased persons labouring under different maladies 
enclosed and crowded together ; and fortunately, since the date of this 
expedition, the management of the sick with respect to air has undergone 
a very essential reform." 



1741.] THEIR SECOND VOYAGE. 73 

journal, "the most dismal and terrifying objects: the 
foxes mangled the dead before they could be buried, and 
were even not afraid to approach the living and helpless 
who lay scattered here and there, and smell at them like 
dogs. This man exclaimed that he was perishing of cold; 
the other complained of hunger and thirst; and their 
mouths were so much affected by scurvy, that their gums 
grew over their teeth like a sponge. The stone-foxes, 
which swarmed round our dwellings, became so bold and 
mischievous, that they carried away and destroyed different 
articles of provision and clothing. One took a shoe, another 
a boot, a third a glove, a fourth a coat; and they even stole 
the iron implements; whilst all attempts to drive them 
away were ineffectual."* 

Lieutenant Waxel, on whom, since the illness of the 
commodore, the command devolved, and Kytrow, the ship- 
master, continued healthy at sea; and the necessity for exer- 
tion, in seeing everything sent on shore, had a favourable 
effect in repelling the attacks of the disease. At last, how- 
ever, they too were laid up, and soon became so weak, that 
on the 21st of November they were carried ashore like the 
rest. During this dreadful residence on the island, the 
men lived chiefly on the flesh of the sea-otters, which was 
so hard and tough that it could scarcely be torn to pieces 
by the teeth. The intestines were mostly used for the sick ; 
and Steller, in his descriptions of the marine animals of 
these regions, reckons the flesh of the sea-otter as a specific 
against the scurvy. When not wanted for food, they were 
killed for their fine skins, nine hundred being collected on 
the island, and equally divided among the crew. A dead 
whale, which was thrown upon the coast, they called their 
magazine, as it proved a resource when nothing better could 

* Coxe's Russian Discoveries, pp. 73, 74. 



74 DEATH OP BEHRING. [1741. 

be got. The flesh was cut into small pieces, which they 
boiled a long time, to separate the oil from it as much as 
possible, and the remaining hard and sinewy parts they 
swallowed without chewing. 

In this miserable manner they continued to support life ; 
but some of the crew sunk daily under the disease, and on 
the 8th of December the commodore expired. Behring 
was an officer of extraordinary merit; and, until reduced 
by the disease of which he became the victim, endowed with 
unshaken perseverance and energy. His voyage set at rest 
the disputed point regarding the separation of the two 
continents of Asia and America; and he has deservedly 
bequeathed his name to the strait which he was the first to 
explore, and the desolate island on which he died. It is 
melancholy to think, that after the exertions he had made 
in the cause of naval discovery, his life terminated so miser- 
ably ; for it may almost be said that he was buried alive. 
The sand rolled down continually from the side of the 
cavern in which he lay, and at last covered his feet ; nor 
would he suffer it to be removed, saying he felt warmth 
from it, when he was cold in all other parts. It thus gra- 
dually increased upon him, till his body was more than half 
concealed ; so that, when he at last expired, it was found 
necessary to unearth him previously to his being interred. 
u Behring," says Steller, who was by no means disposed to 
exaggerate the good qualities of his commander, " displayed 
in his illness the most affecting resignation to the will of 
the Supreme Being, and enjoyed his understanding and 
speech to the last. He was convinced that the crew had 
been driven on an unknown land ; yet he would not terrify 
others by declaring his opinion, but cherished their hopes 
and encouraged their exertions. He was buried according 
to the Protestant ritual, and a cross was erected over his 
grave to mark the spot, and to serve also as an evi- 



1742.] STATE OP THE EXPEDITION. 75 

dence that the Kussians had taken possession of the 
country."* 

Soon after the death of the commodore, the whole crew 
were sheltered from the severity of the winter in subter- 
ranean dwellings contiguous to each other, and recovered 
so much strength by the use of sweet and excellent water, 
and the flesh of the sea- animals killed in hunting, that their 
existence became comparatively comfortable. Of the manner 
in which they passed their time during the dreary winter 
months, from December to May, Steller has left us in his 
journal a minute and interesting account. In March the 
sea- otters disappeared, either from the instinct of changing 
their abode at particular seasons of the year, or banished 
by continual persecution ; but their place was supplied by 
other marine animals, which, in their turn, also left them. 
u To supply ourselves with fuel," says Steller, "was like- 
wise a considerable labour : As the island produced nothing 
but willow-bushes, and the driftwood was often deeply 
buried in the snow till the end of March, we were compelled 
to bring it from a distance of even fifteen or sixteen versts ; 
and our load upon these expeditions amounted to from sixty 
to eighty pounds, besides our hatchets and kettles, with the 
necessary implements for mending our shoes and clothes. 
In April, however, we were relieved from this labour by 
the thaw and breaking up of the vessel. An anecdote of 
an escape made by them in hunting, as it is given by the 
same lively writer, presents us with a striking picture of 
their manner of life upon the island. "On the 5th of 
April," says he, " during a gleam of favourable weather, 
Steneser and myself, with my Cossack and a servant of 
Behring, went on a hunting expedition. Having killed as 
many sea-otters as we were able to carry, we made a fire 

* Coxe's Russian Discoveries, p. 79. 



76 THEY BUILD A NEW VESSEL. [1742. 

in a cliff, where we proposed to pass the night. At mid- 
night a violent hurricane arose, and the snow fell in such 
quantities that we should have been buried had we not run 
continually backwards and forwards. In the morning, 
after a long and fruitless search for shelter, we resigned 
ourselves to our fate ; but the Cossack fortunately discovered 
a large cavern, which seemed to have been formed by an 
earthquake, where we entered with our provision and wood. 
It afforded a secure retreat from the weather, contained a 
cavity in which we could hide our provisions from the 
depredations of the stone-foxes, and was provided with an 
aperture which served the purpose of a chimney. The cave 
and bay, which were named in compliment to me, were 
inhabited by numerous foxes, which retired on our approach 
through the chimney ; but the smoke from our fire caused 
such a spitting and sneezing amongst them, as gave no 
small diversion to the party. At night, however, they 
occasionally returned into the cavern, and amused them- 
selves with taking away our caps, and playing other similar 
gambols. On the 4th we returned to our abode with a rich 
booty, and were received with great delight by our com- 
panions, who thought us lost."* 

On the 6th of May, such of the crew as were able to 
work began to build from the relics of the wreck a vessel, 
which was intended to carry the survivors to Kamtschatka. 
Their number was now reduced to forty -five, thirty having 
died on the island, including the three carpenters ; but a 
Siberian Cossack named Starodubzow, who had for some 
time worked as a shipwright at Ochotzk, superintended 
the building of the new ship. At first they were put to 
great inconvenience from a deficiency of tar; but by an 
uigenious contrivance it was extracted from the new cord- 

* We have availed ourselves of Coxe's translation of this passage, as 
published in his Russian Discoveries, pp. 85. 86. 



1742.] RETURN TO KAMTSCHATKA. 77 

age which they had to spare. After being cut and picked, 
they put it into a large copper kettle, having a cover fitting 
close, with a hole in the middle. They then took another 
vessel with a similar cover, which they fixed firm in the 
ground, and upon this set the copper kettle turned upside 
down, the apertures in the lids being placed exactly against 
each other. Part of this machinery was then buried in the 
earth, and a fire kindled round what was above ground, by 
which means the tar of the new cordage melted, and ran 
into the inferior vessel. This contrivance having removed 
their greatest difficulty, by the 10th of August the new 
vessel was launched, and on the 16th Lieutenant Waxel 
set sail with the melancholy remnant of his crew; but, 
owing to contrary winds, they did not make the coast of 
Kamtschatka till the 25th, although from Behring's Island 
the distance was not more than thirty German miles. On 
the 27th they anchored in Awatchka Bay; and the Cos- 
sack, Starodubzow, to whose efforts in constructing the 
vessel the preservation of the crew was mainly owing, 
received the rank of sinbojarski, a degree of Siberian 
nobility. Such is an account of the celebrated and un- 
fortunate expedition of Commodore Behring, of which the 
results were highly important to geographical science, 
although dearly bought by the death of so many brave 
men. 

Although Lord Mulgrave had failed in his attempt to 
discover, by a northerly course, a communication between 
the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans,* the British Government 
did not abandon all hope; and in 1776, Captain James 
Cook, who had already established his reputation as the 
greatest of modern navigators, was selected by the Ad- 
miralty to conduct another expedition, reversing only the 

* Polar Seas and Eegions, 3d edit. p. 327-335. 



78 COOK AND CLERKE'S VOYAGE. [1776. 

plan, and endeavouring to sail from the Pacific into the 
Atlantic, instead of from the Atlantic into the Pacific. 

In prosecution of this plan, on the 12th of July 1776, 
Cook sailed from Plymouth Sound in the Resolution, 
leaving instructions for the Discovery, the command of 
which was intrusted to Captain Charles Clerke, to join him 
at the Cape. From that place the two ships proceeded, in 
a course marked by important discoveries, through the 
Southern Hemisphere, by Van Diemen's Land, New Zea- 
land, Otaheite, and the Sandwich Islands. They then 
steered north-eastward, and on the 7th of March, in lati- 
tude 44£° north, came in sight of the American continent 
at the coast of New Albion. Owing to unfavourable winds, 
which forced the ships to the south, it was the 29 th before 
Cook anchored in Nootka Sound, where he was soon visited 
by thirty boats of the natives, carrying each from three to 
seven or eight persons, both men and women. At first 
none of the Americans would venture within either ship ; 
and from the circumstance of their boats remaining at a 
short distance all night, as if on watch, it was evident they 
regarded the arrival of the strangers with much suspicion. 
A friendly intercourse, however, was soon established; and 
although theft, particularly of any iron utensil, was un- 
scrupulously committed, they were pretty fair and honest 
in their mode of barter. " They were," says Cook, " docile, 
courteous, and good-natured; but quick in resenting what 
they looked upon as an injury, and, like most other pas- 
sionate people, as soon forgetting it. Their stature was 
rather below the common size of Europeans ; and although 
at first, owing to the paint and grease which covered their 
skins, it was believed that they were of a copper com- 
plexion, it was afterwards discovered that they were in 
reality a white people. They were well armed with pikes, 
some headed with bone, and many with iron; besides 



1776.] INTEKCOUKSE WITH THE NATIVES. 79 

which they carried bows, slings, knives, and a short club, 
like the patow of the New Zealanders ; their arrows were 
barbed at the point, and the inner end feathered." A dis- 
pute occurred after the arrival of the English, between the 
inhabitants of the northern and southern coasts of the 
sound; but a pacific treaty was concluded, and the event 
celebrated by a species of music, in which they bore alter- 
nate parts. "Their songs," says Captain Burney, who 
was himself present, " were given in turn, the party sing- 
ing having their pikes erected. When the first finished, 
they laid down their pikes, and the other party reared 
theirs. What they sung was composed of few notes, and 
as wild as could have been expected; yet it was solemn 
and in unison, and what I thought most extraordinary, 
they were all well in tune with each other. The words 
were at times given out by one man, as a parish-clerk gives 
out the first line of a psalm."* 

It appeared evident to Captain Cook, that previous to 
this the inhabitants had never entertained any direct com- 
munication with Europeans. "They were not startled," 
says he, " by the report of a musket, till one day, upon 
endeavouring to prove to us that arrows and spears would 
not penetrate their war-dresses, a gentleman of our com- 
pany shot a musket -ball through one of them folded six 
times. At this they were so much staggered, that their 
ignorance of fire-arms was plainly seen. This was after- 
wards confirmed when we used them to shoot birds, the 
manner of which confounded them." On the ships leaving 
Nootka Sound, the natives accompanied their farewell with 
a singular exhibition :—" When the anchor was heaving 
up," says Burney, " they assembled in their boats, which 
covered the cove, and began a song, in which they flour- 

* Burney's North-Eastern Voyages of Discovery, p. 213. 



80 COOK AT NOOTKA SOUND. [1776. 

ished the swords, saws, hatchets, and other things, which 
they had obtained from us. In the midst of this valedic- 
tory chorus, one man, mounted on a stage of loose boards, 
which was supported by the people in the nearest canoes 
or boats, danced with a wooden mask on, which he occa- 
sionally changed, making himself resemble sometimes a 
man, sometimes a bird, and sometimes an animal. Of 
these masks they have great variety, and they parted with 
them willingly, except those of the human face ; if they 
sold any of these, it seemed to be with some repugnance, 
as if they were parting with the image of a friend or a 
relation, and were ashamed to be seen so doing."* 

From Nootka Sound Captain Cook made a survey of the 
coast by Mount Saint Elias, till he arrived at a cape which 
turned short to the north, to which he gave the name of 
Cape Hinchinbroke. Thence he proceeded to Prince Wil- 
liam's Sound ; after which he pursued the coast to the 
west, which was found to take a southerly direction, as 
described by Behring and Tchirikow. These navigators, 
however, as we have seen, had not made a very particular 
examination; and although the tenor of Cook's instructions 
did not permit him to devote much time to the exploring 
rivers or inlets, till he reached the latitude of 65°, still that 
eminent officer deemed himself at liberty to complete an 
accurate survey of this hitherto undiscovered coast, from 
the arm of the sea afterwards denominated Cook's Inlet, 
round the great Peninsula of Alaska, terminating in Cape 
Oonamak. He thence proceeded along the shores of 
Bristol Bay, till he doubled Cape Newenham, from which 
he steered in a north-easterly direction, and anchored in 
Norton Sound. Leaving this, the ships entered Behring' s 
Strait, and followed the coast to the north-west, till they 

* Burney's North-Eastern Voyages of Discovery, pp. 217, 218. 



1776.] cook crosses behring's STRAITS TO ASIA. 81 

doubled a promontory situated in 65° 45" north latitude, 
which they named Prince of Wales' Cape, regarding it 
as the western extremity of all America hitherto known. 
Soon after, in the evening, they discerned the coast of Asia, 
and standing across the strait came to anchor in a bay of 
the Tschuktschi country, near a village, from which the 
natives crowded to the shore. Observing this, Cook landed 
with three boats well armed, and was received by the 
Tschuktschi with cautious courtesy. About forty men, 
armed each with a spontoon, besides bow and arrows, stood 
drawn up on a rising ground close by the village ; and as 
the English drew near, three of them came down towards 
the shore, politely taking off their caps and making low 
bows. On seeing some of the English leap from their 
boats, they retired, and expressed by signs their desire that 
no more should land; but when Cook advanced alone, with 
some small presents in his hand, their confidence was re- 
stored, and they exchanged for them two fox-skins and two 
seahorse-teeth. All this time they never laid down their 
weapons, but held them in constant readiness, except for a 
short time, when four or five persons disarmed themselves 
to give the English a song and a dance; even then, how- 
ever, they placed them in such a manner that they could 
reach them in an instant, and evidently for greater security 
they desired their audience to sit down during the dance. 
This Asiatic people, although dwelling within fifty miles 
of the American coast, were evidently a different race from 
the inhabitants of the shores of Behring's Strait. All the 
Americans whom the English had seen since their arrival 
on the coast were low of stature, with round chubby faces 
and high cheek-bones. The Tschuktschi, on the contrary, 
had long visages, and were stout and well made. Several 
things which they had with them, and more particularly 
their clothing, showed a degree of ingenuity surpassing 
F 



82 RETURNS TO AMERICA. [1778. 

what one could expect among so northern a people. Their 
dress consisted of a cap, frock, breeches, boots, and gloves, 
all made of leather or skins extremely well dressed, some 
with the fur on, some without it, and the quivers which 
contained their arrows were made of red leather neatly 
embroidered, and extremely beautiful.* 

From this bay the ships again stood over to the north- 
east, and continuing their examination of the American 
coast, Cook soon found himself surrounded by the dreary 
features which mark the scenery of the Polar latitudes ; a 
dark and gloomy sky, thick showers of snow and hail, and 
immense fields and mountains of ice, covered in some places 
by the huge forms of the walrus or seahorse, which lay in 
herds of many hundreds, huddling like swine one over the 
other. The flesh of these animals, when new killed, was 
preferred by the crew to their common fare of salt meat, 
but within four- and- twenty hours it became rancid and 
fishy. From a point of land, which was denominated 
Cape Mulgrave, they now explored the coast to the latitude 
of 70° 29", where their progress was arrested by an un- 
broken wall of ice apparently stretching from continent to 
continent.-^- At this time the nearest land was about a 
league distant, and the farthest eastern point seen* a low 
headland much encumbered with ice, to which Cook gave 
the name of Icy Cape, and which, till the recent disco- 
veries of Captain Beechy, constituted the extreme limit of 
European discovery in that quarter of the globe. It was 
now the end of August; and as nothing farther could be 
attempted at that season on the American coast, the ships 
returned to the Sandwich Islands, with the intention of 
resuming in the succeeding summer the attempt for the 
discovery of a communication between the Pacific and the 

* Cook'd Voyages, vol. vi. pp. 409, 410, 411. f Ibid. pp. 415, 417. 



1779.] MEARES' FIRST VOYAGE. 83 

Atlantic — an object which their great commander did not 
live to execute, having been killed in an unfortunate scuffle 
with the natives of Owhyhee, on the 11th of February 1779. 
The farther conduct of the expedition now fell to Gierke 
and King, and an attempt was made to penetrate beyond 
Icy Cape; but the continued fields of ice rendered it utterly 
abortive. The ships therefore, having repassed Behring's 
Strait, came to anchor in the Bay of St. Peter and St. 
Paul, in Kamtschatka. Here Captain Clerke, who had 
long been in a declining state, died ; upon which, to the 
great satisfaction of the crews and officers of both ships, 
who were sick of the dreary navigation in these inhospitable 
latitudes, they returned home. 

Subsequent to the voyages of Cook and Clerke, the 
north-west coast of America was visited at different periods 
by Meares, Vancouver, and Kotzebue; and though the 
limit of discovery was not extended beyond Icy Cape, the 
shores were more minutely examined, and a beneficial 
commercial intercourse established with the natives. Of 
Captain Meares' voyages, the great object was to establish 
a trade between China and the north-west coast of America. 
For this purpose an association of the leading mercantile 
men *in Bengal fitted out two vessels — the Nootka, com- 
manded by Meares himself, and the Sea-otter, by Lieu- 
tenant Walter Tipping. The Sea-otter in the first instance 
took a cargo of opium to Malacca, thence she proceeded to 
America, and is known to have made Prince William's 
Sound ; but after leaving that harbour, no accounts of her 
were ever received, and it appears certain that she and her 
crew perished at sea. The fate of Meares in the Nootka 
was scarcely more tolerable : After a tedious and perilous 
navigation in the China seas, they made their way through 
the straits between Oonamak and Oonalaska against a cur- 
rent running seven knots an hour, from which they sa'lcd 



84 MEAEES' FIRST VOYAGE. [1788. 

across to America by the Schumagin Islands, and anchored 
under Cape Douglas.* Thence they proceeded to Prince 
William's Sound to winter ; and their residence here during 
October, November, and December, though dreary and 
tedious, was not without its comforts. The natives were 
friendly, and brought them provisions ; they caught plenty 
of excellent salmon, and the large flocks of ducks and geese 
afforded constant sport to the officers, and a seasonable 
supply for the table. But the horrors of an Arctic winter 
began soon to gather round them. The ice closed in upon 
the ship ; the snow fell so thick that all exercise became 
impossible ; the ducks and geese collected into flocks, and 
passed away to the southward ; the fish totally deserted the 
creeks ; and the natives, a migratory race, imitating the 
instinct of these lower species, travelled off in a body with 
their temporary wigwams to a more genial district. To 
add to these distresses, the scurvy made its appearance ; 
whilst the sun described weekly a smaller circle, and shed 
a sickly and melancholy light. Even at noon, through 
an atmosphere obscured by perpetual snows, " tremendous 
mountains forbade almost a sight of the sky, and cast their 
nocturnal shadows over the ship in the midst of day." 
The decks were incapable of resisting the intense freezing 
of the night, and the lower part of them was covered an 
inch thick with a hoar frost that had all the appearance of 
snow, notwithstanding fires were kept constantly burning 
twenty hours out of the twenty-four. Between the months 
of January and May, twenty-three men died of the scurvy, 
and the rest of the crew were so disabled as to be incapable 
of any labour ; but the sun's return and the commencement 
of more genial weather produced an instantaneous effect on 
the health and spirits of the crew. The natives returned, 

* Meares' Voyages, vol. i. p. 19. Introductory Voyage. 



1788.] NATIVES OF PRINCE WILLIAM^ SOUND. 85 

and assured the poor sufferers that the cold must soon be 
gone, making them understand by signs that the summer 
would commence about the middle of May ; and the sun, 
which now began to make a larger circle over the hills, 
not only chased away the huge and gloomy shadows that 
like a funeral pall had covered the ship, but brought back 
the fish to the rivers, and the migratory birds to the shore ; 
so that they soon enjoyed an ample supply of fresh food. 
On the 17th of May, a general breaking up of the ice took 
place throughout the cove, and the feeling that they were 
once more in clear water, with the prospect of soon leaving 
a scene of so much distress and horror, cheered the minds 
of the crew with inexpressible comfort.* These happy 
anticipations were soon realized by their sailing from 
Prince of Wales' Sound on the 21st June, and reaching 
the hospitable cluster of the Sandwich Isles, where such 
was the effect of the genial climate, that in ten days' resi- 
dence every complaint had disappeared. On the 2d of 
September they left the Sandwich Islands, and arrived on 
the 20th October at Macao in China. 

It may easily be imagined, that during so disastrous a 
sojourn on the American shore, little or no progress could 
be made in the survey of the coast, which was rugged ; and 
at no great distance were mountains, covered with thick 
woods for about two-thirds of their ascent, beyond which 
they terminated in immense masses of naked rock. The 
black pine grew in great plenty, and a few black currant 
bushes were noticed, but no other kind of fruit or vegetable. 
The number of savages seen by Meares did not exceed 
five or six hundred, and these had no fixed place of 
abode, but wandered up and down as fancy or necessity 
impelled them. They were strong and athletic, rather 

* Meares' Voyages, vol. i. Introductory Voyage, p. 47# 



86 NATIVES OF PRINCE WILLIAM S SOUND. [1788. 

exceeding the common stature of Europeans, with promi- 
nent cheek bones, round flat faces, eyes small and black, 
and hair, which they cut short round the head, of the same 
jetty colour. A slit in the under lip, parallel to the mouth, 
and a perforation in the septum of the nose, in which was 
inserted a large quill or a piece of bark, gave them a 
hideous look ; whilst a singular practice of powdering their 
hair with the down of birds, allowing the frostwork and 
icicles to hang from the beard, and painting the neck and 
face with red ochre, increased the savage singularity of 
their appearance. Their clothing consisted of a single frock 
of the sea-otter skin reaching to their knees. When em- 
ployed in their canoes, they used a dress made of the entrails 
of the whale, which covered the head, and was so disposed 
that it could be tied round the hole in which they sat, so as 
to prevent the water from getting into the canoe, whilst it 
kept the lower part of the body warm and dry. Their 
hardihood and capacity of enduring pain astonished the 
English, and was remarkably evinced upon an occasion 
mentioned by Meares : — " In the course of the winter," says 
he, " among other rubbish, several broken glass bottles had 
been thrown out of the ship, and one of the natives, who 
was searching among them, cut his foot in a very severe 
manner. On seeing it bleed, we pointed out what had 
caused the wound, and applied a dressing to it, which he 
was made to understand was the remedy we ourselves 
applied on similar occasions; but he and his companions 
instantly turned the whole into ridicule, and at the same 
time taking some of the glass, they scarified their legs 
ind arms in a most cruel and extraordinary manner, 
informing us that nothing of that kind could ever hurt 
them."* 

* Meares' Voyages, vol. i. Introductory Voyage, p. G6. 



1789.] MEARES' SECOND VOYAGE. 87 

The disastrous result of this first expedition did not deter 
either Meares or his liberal employers from hazarding a 
second voyage to the same coast, which was attended with 
more important results. The Felice, of 230 tons burden, 
and the Iphigenia, of 200, were fitted out on this adventure ; 
the command being given to Captains Meares and Douglas. 
Both vessels were copper-bottomed and strongly built, and 
their crews consisted of Europeans and Chinese, among 
whom were some excellent smiths, shipwrights, and other 
artisans. The taking the Chinamen aboard was an experi- 
ment. Before this time they had never formed part of the 
crew of an English merchant-ship ; and it is but justice to 
say that they proved hardy, good-humoured, and industrious. 
Two other very interesting passengers were on board of 
Captain Meares' ship — Teanna, a prince of Atooi, one of 
the Sandwich Isles, who had volunteered to leave his native 
country when Meares visited it during his former expedition, 
and Comekala, a native of King George's Sound, who had 
at the same time entreated to be carried to China. Of these 
two specimens of savage life, Teanna was by far the finest, 
both in moral and in physical qualities. He was about 
thirty-two years old, near six feet five inches in stature, 
and in strength almost Herculean. His carriage was dig- 
nified, and, in consequence of the respect paid to his superior 
rank in his own country, possessed an air of distinction, 
to which his familiarity with European manners had not 
communicated any stiffness or embarrassment. Comekala, 
on the other hand, though cunning and sagacious, was a 
stranger to the generous qualities which distinguished the 
prince of the Sandwich Isles. He was kind and honest 
when it suited his own interest ; but stole without scruple 
whatever he wished to have, and could not procure by 
fairer means. Brass and copper were metals which he 
might almost be said to worship. Copper halfpence, but- 



88 king george's sound. [1789. 

tons, saucepans — all possessed in his eyes the highest 
charms. It was evident that he coveted the brass buttons 
of the captain's uniform ; and his mode of fixing his eyes 
on the object of his desire, and the pangs of ungratified 
avarice, as exhibited in the contortions of his countenance, 
proved matter of much amusement to the crew. The cause 
of his insatiable thirst for copper became afterwards ap- 
parent. 

In the meantime, Captain Meares found it necessary to 
separate from his consort, whose slow sailing threatened to 
impede his progress ; and, after a long and hazardous pas- 
sage, the ship anchored in Friendly Cove, in King George's 
Sound, abreast of the village of Nootka, on the morning 
of the 13th of May. Comekala, who for several days had 
been in a state of high excitation, now enjoyed the genuine 
delight of once more beholding his native shore ; and when 
his intention of landing was made known, the whole inha- 
bitants poured forth to give him welcome. The dress in 
which he chose to appear for the first time after so long an 
absence was very extraordinary. On a former occasion, 
when visited by Hannapa, a brother chief, he contented 
himself with an ordinary European suit ; but he now, says 
Meares, arrayed himself in all his glory. His scarlet coat 
was decorated with such quantities of brass buttons and 
copper appendages of one kind or other, that they could 
not fail to procure him profound respect from his country- 
men, and render him an object of unbounded admiration to 
the Nootka damsels. At least half a sheet of copper formed 
his breastplate ; from his ears copper ornaments were sus- 
pended ; and he contrived to hang from his hair, which was 
dressed with a long pig-tail, so many handles of copper 
saucepans, that their weight kept his head in a stiff upright 
position, which very much heightened the oddity of his 
appearance. For several of the ornaments with which he 



1789.] RECEPTION OF COMEKALA. 89 

was now so proudly decorated, Comekala had lived in a 
state of continual hostility with the cook, from whom he 
purloined them ; but their last and principal struggle was 
for an enormous spit, which the American prince had seized 
as a spear to swell the circumstances of that splendour 
with which he was preparing to dazzle the eyes of his 
countrymen. In such a state of accoutrement, and feeling 
greater delight than ever was experienced on the proudest 
European throne, the long boat rowed Comekala ashore, 
when a general and deafening shout from the crowd assured 
him of the universal joy felt on his return. The whole 
inhabitants moved to the beach, welcomed the traveller on 
shore, and afterwards conducted him to the king's house, 
which none but persons of rank were permitted to enter, 
and where a magnificent feast of whale blubber and oil was 
prepared. On the whole, Comekala' s reception, and the 
impression made by his extraordinary costume, evinced his 
intimate knowledge of the character of his countrymen ; for 
though to the English the effect was irresistibly comic, the 
natives regarded him with a mixture of silent awe and 
wonder, which after a while broke forth into expressions 
of universal astonishment and delight. 

Not long after this exhibition, two Nootka princes, — 
Maquilla and Callicum, paid a visit to the English. Their 
little squadron, consisting of twelve canoes with eighteen 
men each, moved with stately parade round the ship. The 
men wore dresses of beautiful sea-otter skins, covering them 
from head to heel ; their hair was powdered with the white 
down of birds, and their faces bedaubed with red and black 
ochre, in the form of a shark's jaw and a kind of spiral 
line, which rendered their appearance extremely savage. 
Eight rowers sat on each side, and a single man at the 
bow; whilst the chiefs, distinguished by a high cap, pointed 
at the crown, and ornamented with a small tuft of feathers, 



90 NOOTKA MUSIC. [1789. 

occupied a place in the middle. All this was very striking ; 
but the most remarkable accompaniment was the air which 
they chanted, the effect of which is described by Meares as 
uncommonly pleasing. "We listened," says he, "to their 
song with an equal degree of surprise and pleasure. It 
was indeed impossible for any ear susceptible of delight 
from musical sounds, or any mind not insensible to the 
power of melody, to remain unmoved by this solemn un- 
expected concert. The chorus was in unison, and strictly 
correct as to time and tune ; nor did a dissonant note escape 
them. Sometimes they would make a sudden transition, 
from the high to the low tones, with such melancholy turns 
in their variations, that we could not reconcile to ourselves 
the manner in which they acquired or contrived this more 
than untaught melody of nature. There was also something 
for the eye as well as the ear, and the action that accom- 
panied their voices added very much to the impression 
which the chanting made upon us all. Every one beat 
time with undeviating regularity against the gunwale of 
the boat with their paddles ; and at the end of every verse 
they pointed with extended arms to the north and south, 
gradually sinking their voices in such a solemn manner as 
to produce an effect not often attained by the orchestras of 
European nations." This account of the impressive music 
of the people of Nootka Sound is, the reader may remember, 
corroborated by Captain Burney.* The ceremony, however, 
did not end with the song ; but after rowing twice round 
the ship, rising up each time as they passed the stern, and 
vociferating " Wacush! Wacush!" (friends), they brought 
their canoes alongside, and the two chiefs came on board. 
Both were handsome men of the middle size, possessing a 
mild but manly expression of countenance. They accepted 



* Supra, p. 70. 



1789.] HUNTING THE SEA-OTTER. 91 

a present of copper, iron, and other articles, with signs of 
great delight; and throwing off their sea-otter garments, 
laid them gracefully at the feet of the English, and stood 
on the deck quite naked. Each of them was presented 
with a blanket, which they threw over their shoulders with 
marks of high satisfaction, and descending into their canoes, 
were paddled to the shore. 

A brisk trade in furs now commenced, which, though 
interrupted occasionally by the petty thefts of the savages, 
was highly favourable to the commercial interests of the 
expedition. Skins of the sea-otter, beaver, martin, sable, and 
river-otter, of the ermine, black-fox, gray, white, and red 
wolf, wolverine, marmot, racoon, bear, and mountain- sheep, 
and in addition to all these, of the furred, speckled, and 
common seal, sea-cow, and sea-lion, were all procured, 
though some in greater abundance than others. Of these, 
by far the most beautiful and valuable was the skin of the 
sea- otter. The taking of this animal is attended with 
considerable hazard ; but constant practice has taught the 
natives both skill and courage. " When it is determined 
to hunt the sea-otter," says Meares, " two very small canoes 
are prepared, in each of which are seated two expert hun- 
ters. The instruments they employ are bows and arrows, 
with a small harpoon, which differs somewhat from the in- 
strument of the same kind used in hunting the whale, the 
shaft being much the same, but the harpoon itself of greater 
length, and so notched and barbed that when it has once 
entered the flesh it is almost impossible to extricate it. It 
is attached to the shaft by several fathoms of sufficient 
strength to drag the otter to the boat. The arrows em- 
ployed are small, and pointed with bone formed into a 
single barb. Thus equipped, the hunters proceed among 
the rocks in search of their prey. Sometimes they sur- 
prise the animal when sleeping on his back on the surface 



92 HUNTING THE WHALE. [1789. 

of the water ; and if they can approach without awakening 
him, which requires infinite caution and skill, he is easily 
harpooned and dragged to the boat, when a fierce battle 
often ensues between the otter and the hunters, who are 
frequently severely wounded by his teeth and claws. The 
more usual manner of taking him, however, is by pursuit, 
and the chase is sometimes continued for hours. As the 
animal cannot remain long under water, the skill is here 
chiefly exerted to direct the canoes in the same line which 
the otter takes when under water, at which time he swims 
with a celerity that greatly exceeds that of his pursuers. 
The moment he dives, therefore, the canoes separate, in 
order to have the better chance of wounding him with their 
arrows at the moment he rises, although it often happens 
that this wary and cunning animal escapes, and baffles the 
utmost skill of his persecutors. Should it happen that the 
otters are overtaken with their young ones, the instinct of 
parental affection comes out in its most deep and interest- 
ing shape; all sense of danger and of self-preservation is 
instantly lost, and both male and female defend their cubs 
with the most furious courage, tearing out with their teeth 
the arrows and harpoons fixed in them, and often attacking 
the canoes themselves. On such occasions, however, their 
utmost efforts are unavailing, and they and their offspring 
never fail of yielding to the power of the hunters."* 

The hunting the whale, however, is a still nobler sport ; 
and nothing can exceed the skill and intrepidity with which 
the Americans of Nootka engage in it. When it is de- 
termined to proceed against this mighty creature, the chief 
prepares himself with great ceremony. He is clothed in 
the sea-otter's skin, his body besmeared with oil and painted 
with red ochre ; the canoes selected for the service are of a 

* Meares, vol. ii. p. 56. 



1789.] NOOTKA MECHANICAL ARTS. 93 

size between those used in war and the ordinary kind, and 
contain eighteen or twenty men, the bravest and most active 
that can be found. When the whale is discovered, the chief 
himself throws the first harpoon ; but all the people in the 
various attendant canoes are armed with the same instru- 
ment, to be employed as occasion may require. As soon 
as the huge fish feels the smart of the first weapon, he dives, 
and carries the shaft with all its bladders along with him, 
on which the boats follow in his wake, and as he rises con- 
tinue to fix their weapons till he finds it impossible to sink, 
from the number of floating buoys attached to his body. 
The whale then drowns, and is towed on shore with great 
triumph and rejoicing.* He is immediately cut up, part 
being dedicated to the feast which concludes the day, and 
the remainder divided among those who shared the dangers 
and glory of the chase. 

The ingenuity of the Nootka savages in many mechanical 
arts was very remarkable. Their manufacture of harpoons, 
lines, fish-hooks, bows and arrows, their skill in tanning 
and preparing furs, their ingenious manner of forging the 
metals procured from the English into various ornaments 
for their wives or favourites, and above all, their art in 
constructing canoes, astonished the European and Chinese 
artisans. Of the iron received in exchange for furs they 
made tools ; and it was seldom they could be prevailed on 
to use European utensils in preference to their own, with 
the exception of the saw, the utility of which in abridging 
labour was immediately perceived and made available. 
They formed of the same metal a species of tool for hollow- 
ing out large trees, which purpose it served far better than 
any instrument the carpenters of the Felice could give 
them. In this operation a flat stone was employed in place 

* Meares, vol. ii. pp. 52, 55. 



91 NOOTKA ARCHITECTURE. [17S9. 

of an anvil, whilst a round one served for a hammer; and 
with these rude implements they shaped the red-hot iron 
into a tool resembling a cooper's adze, which they fastened 
to a wooden handle with cords made of sinews; it was then 
sharpened, and proved admirably adapted for the purposes 
for which it was intended.* 

After the English had been for some time in King 
George's Sound, the Americans began to make use of sails 
formed of mats, in imitation of Captain Meares' ship. 
Hannapa got the sailors to rig one of his war-canoes in the 
English style, of which he was extremely proud, never 
omitting the csremony of hoisting his pendant whenever 
he approached, to the great amusement of the crew. Not 
long after this, the English were waited upon by Wicananish, 
a prince of greater wealth and power than any they had 
yet seen, who invited them to visit his kingdom, which lay 
at some distance to the southward, that a commercial inter- 
course might be established for the advantage of both par- 
ties. The invitation was accepted, and Wicananish himself 
met the Felice at some distance from the shore with a small 
fleet of canoes; and, coming on board, piloted them into 
the harbour. They found the capital to be at least three 
times the size of Nootka. The country round was covered 
with impenetrable woods of great extent, in which were 
trees of enormous size. After the king and his chiefs had 
been entertained on board, the English were in return in- 
vited to a feast by Wicananish ; and it is not easy to con- 
ceive a more interesting picture of savage life than is given 
by Meares on this occasion: — " On entering the house," says 
he, " we were absolutely astonished at the vast area it 
enclosed. It contained a large square, boarded up close on 
all sides to the height of twenty feet, with planks of an un- 



* Meares, vol. ii. pp. 58, 59. 



1789.] PALACE OF WICANANISH. 95 

common breadth and length. Three enormous trees, rudely 
carved and painted, formed the rafters, which were sup- 
ported at the ends and in the middle by gigantic images, 
carved out of huge blocks of timber. The same kind of 
broad planks covered the whole to keep out the rain ; but 
they were so placed as to be removable at pleasure, either 
to receive the air and light, or to let out the smoke. In 
the middle of this spacious room were several fires, and 
beside them large wooden vessels filled with fish- soup. 
Large slices of whales' flesh lay in a state of preparation, 
to be put into similar machines filled with water, into which 
the women, with a kind of tongs, conveyed hot stones from 
very fierce fires, in order to make it boil. Heaps of fish 
were strewed about ; and in this central part of the square, 
which might properly be called the kitchen, stood large 
seal- skins filled with oil, from whence the guests were 
served with that delicious beverage. The trees that sup- 
ported the roof were of a size which would render the mast 
of a first rate man-of-war diminutive on a comparison with 
them; indeed, our curiosity as well as our astonishment 
was at its utmost stretch, when we considered the strength 
which must have been required to raise these enormous 
beams to their present elevation, and how such strength 
could be commanded by a people wholly unacquainted, as 
we supposed, with the mechanic powers. The door by 
which we entered this extraordinary fabric was the mouth 
of one of these huge images, which, large as it may, from 
this circumstance, be supposed to have been, was not dis- 
proportioned to the other features of its colossal visage. 
We ascended by a few steps on the outside; and, after 
passing the portal, descended down the chin into the house, 
where we found new matter for wonder in the number of 
men, women, and children who composed the family of the 
chief, which consisted of at least eight hundred persons. 



96 FEAST GIVEN TO THE ENGLISH. [1789. 

These were divided into groups according to their respec- 
tive offices, which had distinct places assigned them. The 
whole of the interior of the building was surrounded by a 
bench, about two feet from the ground, on which the various 
inhabitants sat, ate, and slept. The chief appeared at the 
upper end of the room surrounded by natives of rank, on a 
small raised platform, round which were placed several 
large chests, over which hung bladders of oil, large slices 
of whales' flesh, and proportionable gobbets of blubber. 
Festoons of human skulls, arranged with some attention 
to uniformity, were disposed in almost every part where 
they could be placed; and, however ghastly such orna- 
ments appeared to European eyes, they were evidently 
considered by the courtiers and people of Wicananish as a 
very splendid and appropriate decoration of the royal apart- 
ment." "When the English appeared, the guests had made 
a considerable advance in their banquet. Before each per- 
son was placed a large slice of boiled whale, which, with 
small wooden dishes filled with oil and fish -soup, and a 
muscle-shell instead of a spoon, composed the economy of 
the table. The servants busily replenished the dishes as 
they were emptied, and the women picked and opened 
some bark, which served the purpose of towels. The 
guests despatched their messes with astonishing rapidity 
and voracity, and even the children, some of them not 
above three years old, devoured the blubber and oil with a 
rapacity worthy of their fathers. Wicananish in the mean- 
time did the honours with an air of hospitable yet dignified 
courtesy, which might have graced a more cultivated 
society. 

At the conclusion of the feast, it was intimated to the 
English that the proper time had arrived to produce their 
presents. Upon this a great variety of articles were dis- 
played; among which were several blankets and two copper 



17S9.] BRISK TRADE IN FURS. 97 

tea-kettles. On these last, considered to be almost ines- 
timable, the eyes of the whole assembly were instantly 
riveted; and a guard was immediately mounted, who kept 
a jealous watch over them till curiosity was gratified; after 
which they were deposited in large chests, rudely carved 
and fancifully adorned with human teeth. About fifty men 
now advanced into the middle of the apartment, each hold- 
ing up a sea- otter skin nearly six feet in length; and while 
they remained in that position the prince delivered a speech, 
during which he gave his hand in token of friendship to 
the captain, and informing him that these skins were the 
return he proposed to make for the present he had just 
received, concluded by ordering them to be immediately 
conveyed on board. 

The English now opened a brisk trade, procuring the 
finest furs, whilst they were supplied with excellent provi- 
sions. Salmon, cod, halibut, rock-fish, and herrings, were 
brought to them fresh from the water; and the women and 
children sold them berries, wild onions, salads, and other 
esculent plants, Wicananish, however, was anxious to 
establish a rigid monopoly, and evinced the utmost jealousy 
lest any neighbouring princes should be admitted to trade 
with the English. None were allowed to go on board 
without his license; and one unfortunate stranger was 
detected without a passport, hurried into the woods, and, 
as was strongly suspected, instantly put to death. At last 
two chiefs, who had already entered into some transactions 
with Captain Meares, remonstrated against such illiberal- 
ity; and Wicananish, rather than go to war, concluded a 
treaty, which had the effect of restoring a good understand- 
ing by mutual sacrifices. Hanna and Detooche agreed to 
resign to Wicananish all the otter- skins in their possession, 
on condition of receiving the two copper tea-kettles already 
mentioned. These last articles, however ludicrous it may 



98 NATURE OF THE COUNTRY. [1789. 

appear in the eyes of European diplomatists, formed the 
grand basis of the treaty, and the terms of exchange were 
not arranged without much difficulty. During these pro- 
ceedings the English had little opportunity to examine 
the country; but everything which they saw was inviting. 
An archipelago extended from King George's Sound to 
the harbour of Wicananish, most of the islands being 
covered with wood, with few clear spots. The soil was 
rich, producing berries and fruits in abundance, and the 
timber of uncommon size and beauty, consisting chiefly of 
red oak, large cedar, black and white spruce-fir. In their 
expeditions into the interior they met with frequent groves, 
where almost every second tree was fit for masts of any 
dimensions.* 

From Wicananish Captain Meares sailed southward 
along a coast not visited by Cook, of which the chart by 
Maurelle was so inaccurate, that it seemed almost certain 
he had never surveyed it in person. During this voyage 
they were visited by a small fleet of canoes, filled with 
people far more savage than those hitherto met with. The 
face of the chief was bedaubed with black ochre, and pow- 
dered with a glittering sand, which communicated a singular 
fierceness of expression; whilst his manners were rude, and 
gave no encouragement to any more intimate intercourse. 
Meares continued his survey of the coast as far north as 
latitude 49° 37'; after which he retraced his progress, and 
on reaching the Strait of Juan de Fuca, took possession of 
it, with all the usual ceremonies, in the name of the King 
of G reat Britain. The existence of this channel, which 
had been doubted since its discovery in 1592, was now 
positively ascertained, and the long-boat was despatched 
ap the strait under the command of Mr. Duffin, first officer 

* Meares' Voyages, vol. i. p. 239. 



1789.] STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA. 99 

of the Felice. Her crew consisted of thirteen sailors, well 
armed, and provisioned for a month. In a week, however, 
they returned — with their full complement indeed, but 
every one of them wounded. They had been attacked by 
the natives with a ferocity and determination which set at 
nought the usual terror of fire-arms. The assailants used 
their bows and arrows, clubs, spears, stone-bludgeons, and 
slings, with great skill and courage. The boat itself 
showed this, being pierced in numerous places with the 
barbed arrows, many of which were still sticking in the 
awning, which, by intercepting the heavy showers of these 
missiles, and breaking the fall of the large stones discharged 
from the slings, was the principal means of preserving the 
lives of the crew. 

On returning down the strait, they were met by a canoe 
paddled by two subjects of Wicananish; and after purchas- 
ing some fish, were about to bid them farewell, when the 
savages made them aware that they still had another com- 
modity to dispose of, and to their inexpressible horror 
exhibited two human heads still dripping with blood. 
" They held up these detestable objects by the hair," says 
Meares, " with an air of triumph and exultation; and when 
the crew of the boat discovered signs of disgust and detes- 
tation at so appalling a spectacle, the savages, in a tone 
and with looks of extreme satisfaction, informed them that 
they were the heads of two people belonging to Tatootche, 
the enemy of their own king Wicananish, whom they had 
recently slain."* 

This last occurrence threw a gloom over the spirits of 
the ship's company, and caused them to make more minute 
inquiries into the habits of the savages, which brought to 
light some very extraordinary circumstance* ». Mild and 



* Meares' Voyages, vol. i. p. 289« 



100 CANNIBALISM. [1789. 

amiable as were the general manners of the inhabitants of 
Nootka Sound, it was discovered, by their own confession, 
that they not only tortured captives with every refinement 
of cruelty, but feasted on human flesh. Callicum, a chief 
described by Meares as a model of kindness and even of 
delicacy in his intercourse with the English, acknowledged 
that he slept nightly on a pillow filled with human skulls, 
which he often exhibited as trophies of his valour. Maquilla 
betrayed his cannibal propensities in a manner still more 
decided : — " It so happened that the chief, in ascending the 
side of the ship, by some untoward accident received a hurt 
in the leg. Orders were immediately given to the surgeon 
to attend, and when he was about to apply a plaster to the 
wound, Maquilla absolutely refused to submit, but sucked 
himself the blood which freely flowed from it ; and when 
we expressed our astonishment and disgust at such conduct, 
he replied by licking his lips, patting his belly, and 
exclaiming, ' Cloosh, cloosh!' or 'Good, good!' Nor did 
he now hesitate to confess that he ate human flesh, and to 
express the delight he took in banqueting upon his fellow- 
creatures ; not only avowing the practice, but informing the 
crew, as they stood shuddering at the story, that not long 
before this the ceremony of killing and eating a slave had 
taken place at Friendly Cove." * This acknowledgment 
was confirmed by Callicum and Hannapa, who, protesting 
they had never tasted the smallest bit of human flesh 
themselves, described Maquilla as peculiarly fond of it, 
and in the practice of killing a slave once a month to 
gratify his unnatural appetite. Perhaps there might be 
some exaggeration in this ; but the ghastly ornaments 
of Wicananish's dining-room, the extraordinary pillow of 
Callicum, the exposure of men's heads and limbs for sale, 

* Meares' Voyages, vol. ii. p. 49. 



1789.] SUPERSTITIONS OF THE NATIVES. 101 

and the admission of the chief himself, sufficiently prove 
the existence of this atrocious custom, whatever might be 
the extent to which it was carried. 

For a long time the English thought the inhabitants 
had no religious belief whatever. To the huge misshapen 
images seen in their houses they address no homage ; they 
had neither priests nor temples, nor did they offer any 
sacrifices; but an accidental circumstance led to the dis- 
covery that, though devoid of all superstitious observances, 
and wholly ignorant of the true God, they were not without 
a certain species of mythology, including the belief of an 
existence after death. "This discovery," says Meares, 
" arose from our inquiries on a very different subject. On 
expressing our wish to be informed by what means they 
became acquainted with copper, and why it was such a 
peculiar object of their admiration, a son of Hannapa, one 
of the Nootkan chiefs, a youth of uncommon sagacity, 
informed us of all he knew on the subject ; and we found, 
to our surprise, that his story involved a little sketch of 
their religion." When words were wanting, he supplied 
the deficiency by those expressive actions which nature or 
necessity seems to communicate to people whose language 
is imperfect ; and the young Nootkan conveyed his ideas 
by signs so skilfully as to render them perfectly intelli- 
gible. He related his story in the following manner : — 
" He first placed a certain number of sticks on the ground, 
at small distances from each other, to which he gave 
separate names. Thus, he called the first his father, and 
the next his grandfather : he then took what remained, and 
threw them all into confusion together, as much as to say 
that they were the general heap of his ancestors, whom he 
could not individually reckon. He then, pointing to this 
bundle, said, when they lived, an old man entered the 
Sound in a copper canoe, with copper paddles, and every- 



]02 SPECULATIONS ON A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. [1789. 

thing else in his possession of the same metal; that he 
paddled along the shore, on which all the people were 
assembled to contemplate so strange a sight, and that, 
having thrown one of his copper paddles on shore, he 
himself landed. The extraordinary stranger then told the 
natives that he came from the sky, to which the boy 
pointed with his hand ; that their country would one day 
be destroyed, when they would all be killed, and rise 
again to live in the place from whence he came. Our 
young interpreter explained this circumstance of his narra- 
tive by lying down as if he were dead, and then, rising up 
suddenly, he imitated the action as if he were soaring 
through the air. He continued to inform us that the 
people killed the old man and took his canoe, from which 
event they derived their fondness for copper, and he added 
that the images in their houses were intended to represent 
the form, and perpetuate the mission, of this supernatural 
person who came from the sky." * 

As the objects of this voyage were principally of a com- 
mercial nature, Captain Meares had better opportunities to 
observe the character of the natives than to explore the 
coast or the interior of the country. The range of his 
navigation, extending only from Nootka Sound to the lati- 
tude of 49° 37' north, disclosed no regular continuity of 
land, but in every direction large islands, divided by deep 
sounds and channels. The time which this intelligent 
seaman could spare was not enough to complete the survey; 
but judging from what he did see, he was led to the belief 
that the entire space from St. George's Sound to Hudson's 
Bay and Davis' Strait, instead of a continent, was occupied 
by an immense archipelago, through which might reach a 
passage from the Pacific into the Atlantic Ocean. " The 

* Meares' Voyages, vol. ii. pp. 70, 71. 



1790.] VOYAGE OF VANCOUVER. 103 

channels of this archipelago," says he, in his memoir on 
the probable existence of a north-west passage, " were 
found to be wide and capacious, with near two hundred 
fathoms depth of water, and huge promontories stretching 
out into the sea, where whales and sea-otters were seen in 
an incredible abundance. In some of these channels there 
are islands of ice, which we may venture to say could never 
have been formed on the western side of America, which 
possesses a mild and moderate climate; so that their 
existence cannot be reconciled to any other idea, than that 
they received their formation ia the Eastern Seas, and have 
been drifted by tides and currents through the passage for 
whose existence we are contending." * 

To determine this great question, and complete an accu- 
rate survey of the north-west coast of America, Captain 
Vancouver, an excellent officer, who had received his pro- 
fessional education under Cook, was despatched in 1790 ; 
and commencing his voyage at Cape Mendocino, in lati- 
tude 41°, he sailed northward two hundred and nineteen 
leagues to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, never losing sight 
of the surf which dashed against the shore, taking once or 
twice every day the meridional altitude, and minutely 
noting the position of the most conspicuous points. The 
whole coast presented an impenetrable barrier against 
approach from the sea, and no opening was found to afford 
his vessels the smallest shelter. He then explored the 
Strait of Juan de Fuca ; and having satisfied himself that 
no passage across America was to be discovered there, 
devoted his time to the survey of the labyrinth of islands, 
sounds, and inlets, between 50° and 60° of latitude. After 
a series of patient and scientific observations every way 
worthy of the school in which he had been bred, he ascer- 

* Meares' Voyages, vol. ii. p. 242. 



104 KOTZEBUE. [1816. 

tained the grand fact that the coast was throughout con- 
tinuous, and thus dispelled all hope of a north-west passage 
in this quarter. It was his fate to encounter not a little 
unreasonable scepticism when the result was made public ; 
and, like many other travellers and navigators, he found too 
much reason to complain of those lazy closet-philosophers 
who refuse to admit any testimony which happens to con- 
tradict their own preconceived theories. Time, however, 
ha,s done him justice, and fully confirmed the accuracy of 
his report. 

After the disastrous result of the expedition of Behring, 
more than eighty years elapsed before Russia thought 
proper to pursue the career of discovery on the extreme 
coasts of North-western America. At length Count 
Romanzoff, a scientific and patriotic nobleman, determined 
to despatch Lieutenant Kotzebue on a voyage to the 
straits which bear the name of that great mariner. His 
equipment consisted of a single vessel, the Rurick, 100 
tons burden, with twenty-two sailors, a surgeon, and a 
botanist. Having doubled Cape Horn, he arrived on the 
19th June 1816 at Awatscha. Continuing his course, 
he passed the boundary explored by Behring, and on 
the 1st of August descried on his right, in latitude 68°, 
a broad opening, which he trusted would prove the long- 
sought-for passage. Having entered, he landed on the 
beach, ascended a neighbouring hill, and saw nothing but 
water as far as the eye could reach. Full of ardent expec- 
tation, he employed a fortnight in examining this sound, 
making a complete circuit of its shores. No outlet, how- 
ever, was discovered, except one, which it appeared almost 
certain communicated with Norton Sound, and Kotzebue 
resumed his voyage, which, however, was attended with 
no new or important results. To this arm of the sea, 
the discovery of which forms the principal feature in 



1516.] COLONIZATION OF CANADA. 105 

his enterprise, he has very properly communicated his 
name. 

With Kotzebue terminates our account of the progress 
of discovery upon the north-western shores of America; 
for an outline of the survey made by Captain Beechey 
belongs to a future portion of this disquisition. It is a 
pleasing reflection, that almost exclusively to the British 
navy belongs the hard-earned praise of having explored 
nearly the whole of this coast, with an accuracy which 
leaves nothing to be desired by the most scientific navi- 
gator. 



CHAPTEK III. 

Hearne and Sir Alexander Mackenzie. 

Colonization of Canada — French Fur-Trade — Eise of Hudson's Bay 
Company — Hearne's Three Journeys — North-West Fur Company — 
First Journey of Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1789 — His Second 
Expedition in 1792. 

Having completed a brief sketch of the progress of dis- 
covery along the wide extent of the eastern and western 
shores of North America, from the first expedition of Cabot 
to the latest attempts of Kotzebue, two important subjects 
present themselves — the rise of the fur-trade, and the 
great discoveries which were achieved by British subjects 
connected with this branch of commercial enterprise. The 
expedition of C artier conferred on the French that title to 
the countries round the St. Lawrence which results from 
priority of discovery; and other circumstances combined to 
direct their efforts chiefly to the colonization of the more 
northern tracts of America. Amongst these causes may be 
reckoned the disastrous failure of their attempt to establish 
a settlement in Florida, the great power of the Spaniards 



106 SI EUR DE LA ROCHE. [1598. 

in that quarter, and the pre-occupation of the middle 
regions of the continent by the English. In 1598, the 
Sieur de la Roche, a Breton gentleman of ancient family, 
obtained from Henry IV. a patent, equally unlimited with 
that granted by Elizabeth to Gilbert and Raleigh. He 
was nominated Lieutenant- General of Canada, Hochelaga, 
Newfoundland, Labrador, and of the countries lying on the 
River of the great Bay of Norimbega (meaning the St. 
Lawrence), and the supreme command, both civil and mili- 
tary, was concentrated in his single person. His prepara- 
tions were singularly disproportionate to these high-sound- 
ing titles, and the whole expedition was unfortunate. La 
Roche, with a small squadron, and crews consisting prin- 
cipally of convicted felons, landed on Sable Island, near 
the coast of Nova Scotia. From this barren spot, ill 
adapted for a settlement, he reached the opposite shore, 
which he surveyed ; and having intrusted the temporary 
command of the colony to an inferior officer, he returned 
to France to procure additional supplies. On arriving in 
Brittany, a dispute arose between him and the Duke de 
Mercoeur, a nobleman enjoying the confidence of the French 
monarch, by whose influence the royal favour was wholly 
withdrawn from La Roche. That adventurer, deprived of 
all means of prosecuting his enterprise in the New World, 
soon after died of a broken heart. 

Meantime the colony on Sable Island were exposed to 
famine and disease, and totally neglected by the king, 
amid the occupation and excitement of his vast political 
schemes. Their existence was at length accidentally 
recalled to the mind of Henry, who, in deep remorse for his 
forgetfulness, despatched a vessel, which on its arrival found 
only twelve survivors. They had formed a hovel of the 
planks of a shipwrecked Spanish vessel, supported them- 
selves by fishing, and replaced their worn-out European 



1G00.] CHAUVIN AND PONTGRAVE. 107 

garments with the skins of the sea- wolf. On their return 
to France, the monarch was greatly moved by the account 
of their sufferings, corroborated as it was by their emaciated 
and haggard aspect, matted hair, beards which almost swept 
the ground, and singular dress. He hastened to compen- 
sate for his neglect, by granting to such as were felons a 
free pardon, and presenting to each a sum of fifty crowns.* 
These disasters were followed soon after by an attempt 
of Chauvin and Pontgrave, two fur-merchants, to establish 
a colony at Tadoussack, on the mouth of the Saguenay, 
which proved abortive, and gave place to an expedition 
on a more enlarged scale, planned and conducted by De 
Monts, a gentleman of Saintonge, whose squadron consisted 
of forty vessels. His first settlement was on the Island of 
St. Croix, from which he removed to Port Royal, now known 
by the name of Annapolis, where he appears to have aban- 
doned his more pacific designs for the superior excitation 
and profits of piracy. The complaints of the merchants 
engaged in the Newfoundland fishery terminated in the 
recall and disgrace of De Monts; but Champlain, on whom 
the command devolved, showed himself every way worthy 
of the trust. From Tadoussack he removed the principal 
settlement to Quebec, where he built and fortified a town, 
reduced the surrounding territory into cultivation, and 
became the founder of the government of Canada, or New 
France. Leaving his infant settlement, he next deter- 
mined to penetrate into the interior ; and his emotions of 
wonder and astonishment may be easily conceived, when, 
ascending the St. Lawrence, the majestic forests of Canada 
first met his eye, encircling in their bosom the greatest 
lakes known to exist in the world. Surveying first the 
southern bank of the river, and of the Lakes Ontai'io and 



* Histoire General dcs Voyages, vol. xiv. pp. 589, 591. 



108 CHAMPLAIN. [1763. 

Erie, lie found that he had reached the very cradle of savage 
life, surrounded by nations whose manners, occupations, 
and superstitions, were as new as they were bold and 
terrific. 

To pursue the discoveries of the French into the interior 
of North America does not properly fall within the limits 
of this work ; and it is sufficient at present to observe, that 
after a long and sanguinary struggle between the arms 
of France and England, in the war which broke out in 
1756, Canada was at last subdued by the English, and the 
possession of the province confirmed to Great Britain by 
the treaty of 1763. During the war between the United 
States and the mother country, Upper Canada once more 
became the theatre of an obstinate contest, which concluded, 
however, unfavourably for the American troops ; and the 
country has since remained an integral part of the British 
dominions, Under the French, the fur-trade, notwithstand- 
ing the restrictions with which commerce was oppressed, 
was carried to a great height, and embraced an immense 
extent of country. It was conducted by a set of hardy 
adventurers, who joined the savages in their hunting-par- 
ties, and thus collected large cargoes of furs, with which 
they supplied the merchants. Their distant inland expe- 
ditions sometimes occupied twelve or even eighteen months ; 
and during this period their uninterrupted familiarity with 
the natives almost transformed them into as wild and bar- 
barous a condition as that of the tribes with whom they 
associated. " It requires less time," says Sir Alexander 
Mackenzie, " for a civilized people to deviate into the man- 
ners and customs of savage life, than for savages to rise 
into a state of civilization. Such was the event with those 
who thus accompanied the natives on their hunting and 
trading excursions ; for they became so attached to the 
Indian mode of life, that they lost all relish for their former 



1750.] FRENCH FUR TRADE. 109 

habits and native homes. Hence they derived the title of 
Coureurs de Bois, became a kind of pedlars, and were 
extremely useful to the merchants engaged in the fur trade, 
who gave them the necessary credit to proceed on their 
commercial undertakings. Three or four of these people 
would join their stock, put their property into a birch-bark 
canoe, which they worked themselves, and would then either 
accompany the natives in their excursions, or penetrate 
at once into the country. At length these voyages extended 
to twelve or fifteen months, when they returned with rich 
cargoes of furs, and followed by great numbers of the 
natives. During the short time requisite to settle their 
accounts with the merchants, and procure fresh credit, 
they generally contrived to squander away all their gains, 
when they returned to renew their favourite mode of life, 
their views being answered, and their labour sufficiently 
rewarded, by indulging themselves in extravagance and 
dissipation during the short space of one month in twelve 
or fifteen. This indifference about amassing property, and 
the pleasure of living free from all restraint, soon brought 
on a licentiousness of manners, which could not long escape 
the vigilant observation of the missionaries, who had much 
reason to complain of their being a disgrace to the Chris- 
tian religion, by not only swerving from its duties them- 
selves, but bringing it into disrepute with those of the 
natives who had become converts to it, and consequently 
obstructing the great object to which these pious men had 
devoted their lives. They therefore exerted their influence 
to procure the suppression of these people ; and accordingly 
no one was allowed to go up the country to traffic with the 
Indians without a license from the French Government." * 
This change of system was not at first attended with the 

* Sir Alexander Mackenzie's History of the Fur Trade, prefixed to 
his Voyages, pp. 1-3. 



110 COUREURS DE BOIS AND GROSSELIEZ. [1668. 

expected benefits ; for the licenses were sold in most in- 
stances to retired officers or their widows, who again dis- 
posed of them to the fur merchants, and they of necessity 
recalled to their service the Coureurs de Bois as their agents : 
thus matters assumed, though by a somewhat more circui- 
tous process, the same aspect as before. At last military 
posts were established at the confluence of the great lakes, 
which repressed the excesses of the wood-runners, and 
afforded protection to the trade; whilst under this new 
system, a body of respectable men, usually retired officers, 
introduced order and regularity in the traffic with the 
natives, co-operated with the efforts of the missionaries, 
and extended their intercourse with the various tribes to 
the distance of two thousand five hundred miles, from the 
most civilized portion of the colony to the banks of the 
Saskatchewine River in 53° north latitude, and longitude 
102° west* Of these trading commanders two individuals 
attempted to penetrate to the Pacific Ocean, but appear to 
have been unsuccessful. 

The discoveries of the English in Hudson's Bay, and the 
latest attempts of Fox and James to reach the Pacific 
through some of its unexplored channels, have been suffi- 
ciently enlarged upon in a former volume ; -{- but though 
unsuccessful in their great design, the accounts brought 
home regarding the rich furs of these extreme northern 
shores excited the attention of Grosseliez, an enterprising 
individual, who undertook a voyage to survey the country, 
and laid before the French Government a proposal for a 
commercial settlement upon the coast. The minister, 
however, rejected it as visionary ; and Grosseliez, having 
obtained an introduction to Mr. Montagu, the English 
resident at Paris, was introduced to Prince Rupert, who, 



* Mackenzie's Travels, Gen. Hist, of the Fur Trade, p. 6. 
f Polar Seas and Regions, chap. vi. 



1668.] Hudson's bay company. Ill 

struck by the probable advantages of the project, eagerly 
patronized it. By his interest with the English king, 
he obtained the grant of a ship commanded by Captain 
Zachariah Gillam, who sailed with Grosseliez in 1668, and, 
penetrating to the top of James' Bay, erected Fort Charles 
on the bank of the Rupert River. In the succeeding year, 
Prince Rupert, with seventeen other persons, were incorpo- 
rated into a company, and obtained an exclusive right to 
establish settlements and carry on trade in Hudson's Bay. 
Their charter recites, that those adventurers having at their 
own great cost undertaken an expedition to Hudson's Bay, 
in order to discover a new passage into the South Sea, and 
to find a trade for furs, minerals, and other commodities, 
and having made such discoveries as encouraged them to 
proceed in their design, his Majesty granted to them and 
their heirs, under the name of " the Governor and Company 
of Adventurers trading into Hudson's Bay," the power of 
holding and alienating lands, and the sole right of trade in 
Hudson's Strait, and with the territories upon the coasts of 
the same. They were authorized to fit out ships of war, to 
erect forts, make reprisals, and send home all English sub- 
jects entering the bay without their license, and to declare 
war and make peace with any prince or people not Christian.* 
Instituted with such ample powers, and at first placed 
under the management of enlightened men, this company 
soon arrived at considerable prosperity. They have, indeed, 
been severely censured, as exhibiting little zeal to promote 
discovery, and for uniformly opposing every attempt on the 
part of their servants to solve the long-agitated question of 
a north-west passage. There appears to have been much 
personal pique in these accusations ; and the expedition of 
Knight, in 1721, fitted out on the most liberal scale at the 



* Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. ii. pp. 555, 556. 



112 HEARNE. [1768. 

company's expense, and the tenor of their original instruc- 
tions to their governor, certainly prove that they were not 
enemies to the cause of discovery ; whilst the failure of the 
voyages of Middleton in 1742, and of Captains Moore and 
Smith in 1746, must at length have convinced the bitterest 
opponents of the company, that if they had not discovered 
the long-expected passage in some of the straits leading 
into Hudson's Bay, it was for the very sufficient reason that 
such did not exist. But the most remarkable refutation of 
these allegations is to be found in the important and interest- 
ing journey of Hearne, from Prince of Wales' Fort to the 
Northern Ocean, brought to a successful termination in 1772, 
which, in its origin and progress, merits our particular 
attention. 

The native Indians, who range over rather than inhabit 
the large tract of country north of Churchill River, having 
repeatedly brought specimens of copper ore to the company's 
factory, it was plausibly conjectured that these had been 
found not far from the British settlements ; and as the 
savages affirmed that the mines were not very distant from 
a large river, it was imagined, most erroneously as was 
proved by the result, that this stream must empty itself into 
Hudson's Bay. In 1768, the Indians, who came to trade 
at Prince of Wales' Fort, brought farther accounts of this 
river, exhibiting at the same time samples of copper, which 
they affirmed to be the produce of a mine in its vicinity. 
The governor now resolved to despatch an intelligent 
person across the continent to obtain more precise informa- 
tion. Samuel Hearne was chosen for this service, a man 
of great hardihood and sagacity, bred in the employment 
of the company, and who, without pretensions to high scien- 
tific attainments, possessed sufficient knowledge to enable 
him to construct a chart of the country through which he 
travelled. His instructions directed him to proceed to the 



1769.] hearne's first journey. 113 

borders of the country of the Athabasca Indians, where it 
was expected he would meet with a river represented by 
the Indians to abound with copper ore, and to be so far to 
the north that in the middle of summer the sun did not 
set. It was called by the natives Neetha-san-san Dazey, or 
the Far-off Metal River ; and Mr. Hearne was directed to 
explore its course to the mouth, where he was to determine 
the latitude and longitude, to ascertain whether it was 
navigable, and to judge of the practicability of a settlement. 
He was enjoined also to examine the mines alleged to exist 
in that district, the nature of the soil and its productions, 
and to make every inquiry and observation towards dis- 
covering the north-west passage.* 

On the 6th of November 1769 he set out from Prince of 
Wales' Fort, Hudson's Bay, upon this perilous journey. 
He was accompanied by two Englishmen only — Ilbester, 
a sailor, and Merriman, a landsman ; by two of the Home- 
guard Southern Indians — a name given to those natives 
residing as servants on the company's plantation, and em- 
ployed in hunting ; and by eight Northern Indians, under 
the command of Captain Chawchinahaw and Lieutenant 
Nabyah. He was provided with ammunition for two years, 
some necessary iron implements, a few knives, tobacco, and 
other useful articles. As to his personal outfit, his stock 
consisted simply of the shirt and clothes he wore, one spare 
coat, a pair of drawers, as much cloth as would make two 
or three pairs of Indian stockings, and a blanket for his 
bed. "The nature of travelling long j ourney s, ' ' he observes, 
" in these countries will not admit of carrying even the most 
common article of clothing ; so that the traveller is obliged 
to depend on the district he traverses for his dress as well 
as his sustenance." The baseness and treachery of the 

* Hearne's Journey, Introduction, p. 40. 



] 14 ITS FAILURE. [1769. 

Indians, however, soon put a period to the first journey, and 
the desertion of Chawchinahaw, with his whole escort, 
rendered it absolutely necessary for the little party to make 
the best of their way back to the fort, where they arrived 
on the 8th of December, after penetrating only two hundred 
miles into the interior. 

It was now determined to resume the expedition with 
greater precautions against failure. The Indian women 
who accompanied their husbands in the first journey were 
left behind, as were the two Englishmen, who had been of 
little service ; and instead of the treacherous Chawchinahaw, 
Hearne selected an Indian named Connequeesee, who affirmed 
he was acquainted with the country, having once been near 
the river, the discovery of which formed one great object 
of the journey. Attended by this man, along with three 
Northern Indians and two of the Home-guard natives, the 
traveller once more set out on the 23d February, whilst the 
snow was so deep on the top of the ramparts of the fort, 
that few of the cannon could be seen. After undergoing 
the severest extremities from hunger and fatigue, Mr. 
Hearne reached in August the River Doobaunt, in latitude 
63° 10' north. The progress thus far, however, had been 
painful beyond measure, owing to the difficulty of pushing 
forward through a wild unexplored country, intersected 
with rivers, lakes, and woods, at the outset thickly covered 
with snow ; and on the approach of the warmer months so 
flooded and marshy, as to render travelling on foot inex- 
pressibly fatiguing. To add to this, the voracity, improvi- 
dence, and indolence of the Indians, subjected the party to 
repeated distress. If from fishing or hunting a larger 
supply than usual was procured, instead of using it with 
moderation, and laying up a store for future necessities, all 
was devoured by the savages, who, like the boa after he 
has gorged his prey, coiled themselves up, and remained 



1770.] HIS SEVERE SUFFERINGS. 115 

in a state of sleepy torpor till the call of hunger again 
roused them to activity. 

At first the party subsisted without difficulty on the fish 
which abounded in the lakes and rivers ; but in the begin- 
ning of April they entirely disappeared ; and as the " goose 
season," or period when the geese, swans, ducks, and other 
migratory birds, resort to these latitudes, was yet distant, 
they began to suffer grievously from want of provisions. 
Occasionally they were relieved by killing a few deer or 
musk-oxen; but the ground and the brushwood were so 
saturated with moisture from the melting of the snow, that 
to kindle a fire was impossible. With their clothes drenched 
in rain, and their spirits depressed, they were compelled to 
eat their meat raw — a necessity grievous at all times, but 
in the case of the flesh of the musk-ox, which is rank, 
tough, and strongly impregnated with the sickening sub- 
stance from which it derives its name, peculiarly repulsive 
and unwholesome.* 

The simple and modest manner in which these severe 
sufferings are described by Hearne is peculiarly striking. 
" To record," says he, " in detail each day's fare since the 
commencement of this journey, would be little more than a 
dull repetition of the same occurences. A sufficient idea of 
it may be given in a few words, by observing that it may 
justly be said to have been either all feasting or all famine ; 
sometimes we had too much, seldom just enough, frequently 
too little, and often none at all. It will be only necessary 
to say, that we fasted many times two whole days and 
nights, twice upwards of three days, and once, while at 
Shenanhee, near seven days, during which we tasted not 
a mouthful of anything, except a few cranberries, water, 
scraps of old leather, and burnt bones." On these pressing 



Hearne's Journey, p. 31. 



116 HIS SEVERE SUFFERINGS. [1771. 

occasions, Hearne often saw the Indians examine their 
wardrobe, which consisted chiefly of skin clothing, consider- 
ing attentively what part could best be spared, when some- 
times a piece of half-rotten deer-skin, and at others a pair 
of old shoes, would be sacrificed to alleviate extreme hunger. 
" None of our natural wants," he observes, " if we except 
thirst, are so distressing or hard to endure as hunger, and 
in wandering situations like that which I now experienced, 
the hardship is greatly aggravated by the uncertainty with 
regard to its duration, and the means most proper to be 
used to remove it, as well as by the labour and fatigue we 
must necessarily undergo for that purpose, and the disap- 
pointments which too frequently frustrated our best concerted 
plans and most strenuous exertions. It not only enfeebles 
the body, but depresses the spirits, in spite of every effort 
to prevent it. Besides which, for want of action, the sto- 
mach so far loses its digestive powers, that, after long fast- 
ing, it resumes its office with pain and reluctance. During 
this journey I have too frequently experienced the dreadful 
effects of this calamity, and more than once been reduced 
to so low a state by hunger and fatigue, that when Provi- 
dence threw anything in my way, my stomach has been 
scarcely able to retain more than two or three ounces without 
producing the most oppressive pain."* 

On 30th June they arrived at a small river called Cafha- 
whachaga, which empties itself into White Snow Lake, in 
64° north latitude. Here, as the guide declared they could 
not that summer reach the Coppermine River, Hearne 
determined to pass the winter, with the intention of pushing 
on to his destination in 1771. They accordingly forsook 
their northward route, and taking a westerly course, were 
joined in a few days by many troops of wandering Indians ; 

* Hearne's Journey, p. 33. 



1771.] RETURN FROM CATHAWHACHAGA. 117 

so that by the 30th July they mustered about seventy 
tents, containing nearly six hundred souls, and on moving 
in the morning the whole ground seemed alive with men, 
women, children, and dogs. The deer were so plenty that, 
though lately five or six individuals had almost perished 
from hunger, this numerous body supported themselves with 
great ease, and often killed their game for the skins, leaving 
the carcass to be devoured by the foxes.* In this manner, 
engaged alternately in hunting and fishing, making obser- 
vations on the country, and studying the extraordinary 
manners of his associates, the English traveller was pre- 
paring for his winter sojourn, when an accident rendered 
his quadrant useless, and compelled him, on 13th August, 
to set out on his return to the fort. 

The hardships he endured on his route homeward were 
various and accumulated : He was plundered by the Nor- 
thern Indians, who, adding insult to injury, entered his 
tent, smoked a pipe which they filled with the white man's 
tobacco, asked to see his luggage, and without waiting for 
an answer, turned the bag inside out, and spread every 
article on the ground. The work of appropriation was 
equally rapid, and the empty bag was flung to the owner ; 
but a fit of compunction seizing them, they restored a knife, 
an awl, and a needle. On begging hard for his razors, 
they consented to give up one, and added enough of soap 
to shave him during the remainder of his journey, making 
him understand that the surrender of these articles called 
for his warmest gratitude. 

As the cold weather approached, the party thus plundered 
suffered grievously from want of that warm deer- skin 
clothing used by the Indians at this season. A dress of 
this kind is rather costly, requiring the prime parts of from 



* Hearne's Journey, p. 40. 



118 HEARNE MEETS MATONABBEE. [1771. 

eight to eleven skins. These Hearne at last managed to 
collect • but as the Indian women alone could prepare them, 
he was compelled to carry this load along with him from 
day to day, earnestly begging the natives at each suc- 
cessive resting-place to permit their wives to dress his 
skins. He met, however, with a surly and uniform refusal ; 
and at last, after bearing the burden for several weeks, was 
forced to throw it off, and sustain the cold as he best could, 
without either skin- clothing or snow-shoes. When con- 
tinuing their course in this forlorn condition to the south- 
east, they met with Captain Matonabbee, a powerful and 
intelligent chief, who was then on his way to Prince of 
Wales' Fort with furs and other articles of trade. It was 
this person who brought the accounts of the Coppermine 
River, which induced the company to fit out the expedi- 
tion, and he was naturally interested in its success. He 
evinced the utmost activity in relieving their wants, fur- 
nished them with a warm suit of otter and other skins ; 
and, not being able to provide them with snow-shoes, 
directed them to a small range of woods, where they found 
materials for both shoes and sledges. Matonabbee then 
treated the party to a feast, and took occasion, in his con- 
versation with Hearne, to explain the causes of his failure, 
and to offer his assistance in a third expedition. He attri- 
buted all their misfortunes to the misconduct of the guide, 
and to their having no women with them. " In an expedi- 
tion of this kind," said he, " when all the men are so heavily 
laden that they neither can hunt nor travel to any consid- 
erable distance, in case they meet with success in hunting, 
who is to carry the produce of their labour? Women were 
made for labour; one of them can carry or haul as much 
as two men can do. They also pitch our tents, make and 
mend our clothing, keep us warm at night; and, in fact, 
there is no such thing as travelling any considerable dis- 



1771 -J hearne's third journey. 119 

tance, or for any length of time, in this country without 
them; and yet though they do everything, they are main- 
tained at a trifling expense; for, as they always act the 
dook, the very licking of their fingers in scarce times is 
sufficient for their subsistence."* Assisted by this friendly 
chief, the English traveller again set forward, and after 
experiencing an intense degree of cold, by which the 
favourite dog in his sledge was frozen to death, he reached 
the fort on 25th November, having been absent eight 
months and twenty-two days. Matonabbee arrived a few 
days after. 

Though twice compelled to return, Hearne, whose spirit 
was not to be overcome by fatigue or disappointment, 
offered his services to proceed on a third journey, which 
was ultimately crowned with success. For this he engaged 
Matonabbee as guide, and declined taking any Home- 
guard Indians. Their place, however, was occupied accord- 
ing to the principles already laid down, by seven of Maton- 
abbee' s wives, who, by the assistance they afforded, did no 
disparagement to the singular picture of female activity 
which he had drawn. They set out on the 7th of Decem- 
ber, and notwithstanding frequent privations, want of food, 
and intense cold, their sufferings were not so aggravated 
as in the former attempts. The country through which 
they passed towards the west was wild and barren, occa- 
sionally covered with thick shrubby woods of stunted pine 
and dwarf juniper, studded with frequent lakes and swamps 
whose sides were fringed with willows. Through this 
ground they travelled in high spirits, but rather on short 
commons, owing to the scarcity of deer and the impro- 
vidence of the Indians, who consumed everything in the 
store during the first days of their march, trusting to find 

* Hearne's Journey, p. 55. 



120 CATCHIKO DEER IN A POUND. [1772. 

a stock of provisions which they had hid in a certain spot 
on their way to the fort. On reaching the place, however, 
they discovered that the provisions had been carried off; 
and the equanimity with which the Indians bore the dis- 
appointment, and travelled forward under the conjoined 
miseries of hunger and fatigue, was very striking. At last 
they succeeded in killing a few deer, and halted to take 
some refreshment. For a whole day they never ceased 
eating, and an additional repast on two large buck-deer, 
which they killed a few days after, at last fairly overcame 
Captain Matonabbee, who, after devouring at one sitting 
as much as would have satisfied six moderate men, seemed 
somewhat unreasonably astonished to find himself indisposed. 
Having recovered from the effects of this surfeit, they 
proceeded from Island Lake towards the main branch of 
the Cathawhachaga, which they crossed, and directing their 
course by Partridge Lake and Snow Bird Lake, arrived on 
the 2d March at a large tent of Northern Indians, not far 
from the Doobaunt Whoie River. Although these people 
had remained in the same spot since the beginning of 
winter, they found a plentiful subsistence by catching deer 
in a pound. Their mode of accomplishing this is to select a 
well-frequented deer-path, and enclose with a strong fence 
of twisted trees and brushwood a space about a mile in 
circumference, and sometimes more. The entrance of the 
pound is not larger than a common gate, and its inside is 
crowded with innumerable small hedges, in the openings of 
which are fixed snares of strong well-twisted thongs. One 
end is generally fastened to a growing tree; and as all the 
wood and jungle within the enclosure is left standing, its 
interior forms a complete labyrinth. On each side of the 
door, a line of small trees, stuck up in the snow fifteen or 
twenty yards apart, form two sides of an acute angle, 
widening gradually from the entrance, from which they 



pi 




DEER-HUKTIKG. 
When all things are prepared, the Indians take their station on some eminence 
commanding a prospect of this path, and the moment any deer are seen going that 
way the whole encampment steal under cover of the woods till they get behind 
them. They then show themselves in the open ground, and drawing up in the 
form of a crescent advance.— Page 121. 



1772.] THELEWEY-AZA-WETH. 121 

sometimes extend two or three miles. Between these rows 
of brushwood runs the path frequented by the deer. When 
all things are prepared, the Indians take their station on 
some eminence commanding a prospect of this path, and 
the moment any deer are seen going that way, the whole 
encampment — men, women, and children — steal under 
cover of the woods till they get behind them. They then 
show themselves in the open ground, and, drawing up in 
the form of a crescent, advance with shouts. The deer 
finding themselves pursued, and at the same time imagining 
the rows of brushy poles to be people stationed to prevent 
their passing on either side, run straight forward till they 
get into the pound. The Indians instantly close in, block 
up the entrance, and whilst the women and children run 
round the outside to prevent them from breaking or leaping 
the fence, the men enter with their spears and bows, and 
speedily despatch such as are caught in the snares or are 
running loose.* 

M'Lean, a gentleman who spent twenty-five years in the 
Hudson's Bay territories, assures us that, on one occasion, 
he and a party of men entrapped and slaughtered in this 
way a herd of three hundred deer in two hours. 

On the 8th of April they reached an island in a small 
lake named Thelewey-aza-weth, and pitched their tent; 
and as the deer were numerous, and the party, which had 
been joined by various wandering Indians, now amounted 
to seventy persons, they determined to remain for some 
time, and make preparations for their enterprise in the 
ensuing summer. They were busily employed during 
their intervals from hunting, in providing staves of birch 
about one and a quarter inch square and seven or eight 
feet long, which served for tent-poles all the summer, and 

* Hearne's Journej, p. 78-80. 



122 NORTHERN INDIAN WOMEN [1772. 

were converted into snow-shoes in winter. Birch-rind, 
with timbers and other wood for canoes, formed also ob- 
jects of attention; and as Clowey, the place fixed upon for 
building their canoes, was still many miles distant, all the 
wood was reduced to its proper size, to make it light for 
carriage. At this place Matonabbee solaced himself by 
purchasing from some Northern Indians another wife, who 
for size and sinews might have shamed a grenadier. 
" Take them in a body," says Hearne, " and the Indian 
women are as destitute of real beauty as those of any 
nation I ever saw, although there are some few of them 
when young who are tolerable ; but the care of a family, 
added to their constant hard labour, soon make the most 
beautiful amongst them look old and wrinkled, even before 
they are thirty, and several of the more ordinary ones at 
that age are perfect antidotes to the tender passion. Ask 
a Northern Indian what is beauty? he will answer, a 
broad flat face, small eyes, high cheek-bones, three or four 
broad black lines across each cheek, a low forehead, a large 
broad chin, a hook nose, and a tawny hide. These beauties 
are greatly heightened, or at least rendered more valuable, 
if the possessor is capable of dressing all kinds of skins, 
and able to carry eight or ten stone in summer, and to haul 
a far greater weight in winter. Such and similar accom- 
plishments are all that are sought after or expected in an 
Indian Northern woman. As to their temper, it is of 
little consequence ; for the men have a wonderful facility 
in making the most stubborn comply with as much alacrity 
as could be expected from those of the mildest and most 
obliging turn of mind."* 

Before starting from this station, Matonabbee took the 
precaution of sending in advance a small party with the 



* Hearne's Journey, pp. 89, 90. 



1772.] TREATED WITH CRUELTY. 123 

wood and birch-rind; they were directed to press forward 
to Clowey, a lake near the barren ground, and there build 
the boat, to be ready upon their arrival. When the 
journey was about to be resumed, one of the women was 
taken in labour. The moment the poor creature was 
delivered, " which," says Hearne, " was not till she had 
suffered a severe labour of fifty- two hours," the signal was 
made for setting forward ; the mother took her infant on 
her back, and walked with the rest ; and though another 
person had the humanity to haul her sledge for one day 
only, she was obliged to carry a considerable load in ad- 
dition to her little one, and was compelled frequently to 
wade knee- deep in water and wet snow. Amidst all this, 
her looks, pale and emaciated, and the moans which burst 
from her, sufficiently proved the intolerable pain she en- 
dured, but produced no effect upon the hard hearts of her 
husband and his companions. When an Indian woman is 
taken in labour, a small tent is erected for her, at such a 
distance from the encampment that her cries cannot be 
heard, and the other women are her attendants, no male 
except children in arms ever offering to approach; and 
even in the most critical cases no assistance is ever given — 
a conduct arising from the opinion that nature is sufficient 
to perform all that is necessary. When Hearne informed 
them of the assistance derived by European women from 
the skill and attention of regular practitioners, their answer 
was ironical and characteristic : "No doubt," said they, 
" the many hump-backs, bandy legs, and other deformities 
so common amongst you English, are owing to the great 
skill of the persons who assisted in bringing them into the 
world, and to the extraordinary care of their nurses after- 
wards."* 

* Hearne's Journey, p. 93. 



124 AERIVAL AT CLOWEY. [1772. 

In eleven days they travelled a distance of eighty -five 
miles, and on 3d May arrived at Clowey, where they were 
j oined by some strange Indians, and commenced the im- 
portant business of building their canoes. The party sent 
ahead for this purpose arrived only two days before, and 
had made no progress in joining the timbers they had car- 
ried along with them. The whole tools used by an Indian 
in this operation, in making snow-shoes and all other kinds 
of wood-work, are a hatchet, a knife, a file, and an awl; 
but in the use of these they are very dexterous. In shape, 
their canoes bear some resemblance to a weaver's shuttle, 
having flat-bottoms, with straight upright sides, and sharp 
at each end. The stern is the widest part, being con- 
structed for the reception of the baggage ; and occasionally 
it admits a second person, who lies at full length in the 
bottom of the little vessel, which seldom exceeds twelve 
or thirteen feet in length, and about twenty inches or two 
feet in breadth at the widest part. The forepart is un- 
necessarily long and narrow, and covered with birch-bark, 
which adds to the weight without contributing to the burden 
of the canoe. The Indians, for the most part, employ a 
single paddle ; double ones like those of the Esquimaux 
are seldom used unless by hunters, who lie in ambush for 
the purpose of killing deer as they cross rivers and narrow 
lakes. Upon the whole, their vessels, though formed of 
the same materials as those of the Southern Indians, are 
much smaller and lighter; and, from the extreme simpli- 
city of build, are the best that could be contrived for the 
necessities of these poor savages, who are frequently obliged 
to carry them upon their back a hundred and sometimes one 
hundred and fifty miles, without having occasion to launch 
them. 

At Clowey the expedition was joined by nearly two 
hundred Indians from various quarters, most of whom 



1772.] JOINED BY MANY INDIANS. 125 

built canoes there ; and on the 23d May, Mr. Hearne and 
Matonabbee, whose character and consequence effectually 
protected the white man from plunder, proceeded north- 
ward. For some time they met with no distresses, except 
those occasioned by the intense cold, which had been pre- 
ceded by thunder-storms and torrents of rain. Misfortune, 
however, now attacked Matonabbee on the tender side of 
his eight wives, the handsomest of whom eloped in the 
night, accompanied by another woman. Both having been 
carried off by force, it was suspected they had fled to the 
eastward, with the plan of rejoining their former husbands. 
Scarce had the savage polygamist recovered from this blow, 
when he experienced a fresh mortification : An Indian of 
great strength, from whom Matonabbee a short time before 
had purchased a stout, and therefore valuable wife, insisted 
on taking her back, unless he instantly surrendered a cer- 
tain quantity of ammunition, a kettle, some pieces of iron, 
and other articles. The hardship of this case arose from 
an extraordinary custom, by which the men are permitted 
to wrestle for any woman to whom they are attached, the 
victorious party carrying off the prize. It is for this reason 
that the greatest emulation prevails in all athletic exercises 
among the young Indians ; and the children are perpetually 
seen trying their powers in wrestling, under the idea that 
this is the education which will chiefly benefit them when 
they grow up. A weak man seldom long retains a wife 
whose services another wants ; for when the help-mates of 
an able-bodied savage are too heavily laden with furs or 
provisions, he makes no scruple of seizing the spouse of his 
weaker neighbour, and transferring part of the burden to 
her back; whilst, if the injured party cannot challenge the 
aggressor to a wrestling-match, he must not otherwise com- 
plain. The distress, therefore, of Matonabbee upon this 
occasion may be easily accounted for, as he was wounded 



126 matonabbee's pbide. [1772. 

in his pride and in his property, if not in his affections. 
But a personal contest was out of the question, and he was 
obliged to purchase his favourite over again, by yielding 
up all that was demanded by his antagonist. This affair 
had nearly proved a serious obstacle to the expedition; for 
so bitterly did the chief resent the affront, entertaining the 
highest ideas of his personal consequence, that he had re- 
solved, like a Coriolanus of the New World, to renounce all 
farther alliance with his countrymen, and join the Athabasca 
Indians, among whom he had formerly resided. But 
Hearne strenuously opposed this project, and at last suc- 
ceeded in dissuading him from it* 

Having agreed to proceed, Matonabbee, for the better 
prosecution of the enterprise, determined to make some new 
arrangements : He selected his two youngest wives, who 
were unencumbered with children, as alone worthy to ac- 
company him, whilst the remainder, with all their luggage 
and a considerable number of the men, were commanded 
to await the return of the party from the Coppermine 
River. This change of plan, however, was not carried 
through without difficulty. When the hour of separation 
came, and Matonabbee and Hearne set out in the evening 
of 31st May, a low murmur of lamentation proceeded from 
the tents of the women who were left behind, which, run- 
ning through all the notes of increasing grief, at last burst 
into a loud yell. This continued as long as the party were 
in sight ; nor was it without much angry expostulation that 
some of them were prevented from following their husbands. 
The Indians, however, regarded all this, which deeply 
affected their European associate, with indifference, walking 
forward without casting behind them a single look or word 
of sympathy, and joyfully congratulating themselves on 

* Hearne's Journey, pp. Ill, 112. 



1772.] THE PARTY CROSS THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. 127 

getting rid of the women, dogs, children, and other encum- 
brances, which added so greatly to the toil of the journey. 
One article they all carried, although to Hearne it appeared 
unnecessary, considering the expedition to be pacific : this 
was a target of thin boards two feet broad, and about three 
feet long. On inquiring for what purpose these shields 
were to be used, he discovered that the main consideration 
which reconciled the Indians to this expedition was the 
hope of attacking and murdering the Esquimaux who fre- 
quented the Coppermine River, between whom and the 
other Indian tribes there had long existed a deadly enmity. 
All the arguments employed by Hearne were insufficient 
to dissuade them from these hostile intentions. 

The party having crossed the Arctic circle, arrived at 
Cogead Lake, which they found frozen over ; so that they 
traversed its creeks and bays without the aid of their 
canoes. Thence they directed their course due north, till 
they met with a branch of the Congecathawhachaga River, 
where some Copper Indians received them with great kind- 
ness, and readily sent all their canoes to their assistance 
— a piece of courtesy particularly seasonable, as the ice had 
now broken up. To these Indians Hearne explained the 
object of his journey, and his guide being personally known 
to them, they treated the party, which consisted of one 
hundred and fifty persons, with distinguished honour. A 
feast was given, the English traveller smoked with them 
his calumet of peace, and their chiefs expressed the greatest 
anxiety that a European settlement should be established 
in the neighbourhood of the Coppermine River. They 
acknowledged they had never found the sea at the mouth 
of the river free from ice; but with singular simplicity 
seemed to consider this a very trifling objection, observing 
that the water was always so smooth between the ice and 
the shore that even small boats could sail there with great 



128 VARIATIONS IN THE CLIMATE. [1772. 

ease; and inferring that what a canoe could do, a large 
ship must be sure to accomplish. As Hearne was the first 
white man they had seen, he was surrounded by numbers, 
who examined him with the utmost minuteness. The re- 
sult, however, was satisfactory ; for they at last pronounced 
him to be a perfect human being, except in the colour of 
his hair and eyes. The first, they insisted, was like the 
stained hair of a buffalo's tail, and the last, being light, 
were compared to those of a gull. The whiteness of his 
skin, also, was a circumstance on which they demurred a 
little, observing that it looked like meat which had been 
sodden in water till all the blood was extracted. He con- 
tinued, however, to be viewed with a mixture of curiosity 
and admiration, and at his toilet was generally attended 
by a body of the Indians, who, when he used his comb, 
asked for the hairs which came off. These they carefully 
wrapped up, saying, " When I see you again, you shall 
again see your hair."* 

On reaching Congecathawhachaga, in latitude 68° 46 
north, Matonabbee deemed it expedient to leave all the 
women, taking the precaution to kill as many deer as were 
necessary for their support during his absence. The flesh 
was cut into thin slices and dried in the sun — a frequent 
mode of preserving it in these high northern latitudes, by 
which it is kept palatable and nourishing for a twelve- 
month. Having completed these arrangements, the party 
resumed their journey on the 1st of July, proceeding 
amidst dreadful storms of snow, and occasional torrents of 
rain, which drenched them to the skin, through a barren 
and desolate country, where it was impossible with the 
wet moss and green brushwood to kindle a fire. Compelled 
to take shelter in caves at night — for they had no tents — 



* Hearne's Journey, p. 122. 



1789.] WILD-FOWL THE BALD-EAGLE. 145 

was every appearance that the ice would detain the expe- 
dition for a considerable time ; and it was thought neces- 
sary to pitch their tents. The nets were now set ; the 
Indians went off in different directions to hunt ; the women 
gathered berries of various sorts, which abounded in the 
neighbouring woods; and their larder was soon supplied 
with plenty of geese, ducks, and beaver, excellent trout, 
carp, and white fish, and some dozens of swan and duck 
eggs, which were picked up in an adjacent island. Their 
stay, therefore, was far from unpleasant, combining the 
novelty of a residence in a strange country with the excita- 
tion and variety of a hunter's life ; and on the 15th, after 
a rest of six days, as the ice had given way a little, they 
resumed their journey. 

Numerous flocks of birds of all kinds flew around them 
and filled the air with their wild plaintive cries ; while, far 
away, perched on a dead tree, might be seen here and there 
a solitary owl or an eagle, watching for prey. A large 
and very impudent bird of this kind which inhabits the 
American wilderness is the bald-eagle. Fish is its favourite 
food, and the way in which it obtains it is curious and 
interesting. " Elevated," says Wilson, " on the high dead 
limb of some gigantic tree that commands a wide view of 
the neighbouring shore and ocean, he seems calmly to con- 
template the motions of the various feathered tribes that 
pursue their busy avocations below. The snow-white gulls, 
slowly winnowing the air; the busy tringce, coursing along 
the sands; trains of ducks, streaming over the surface; 
silent and watchful cranes, intent and wading; clamorous 
crows, and all the winged multitudes that subsist by the 
bounty of this vast liquid magazine of nature; — high over 
all these hovers one whose action instantly arrests all his 
attention. By his wide curvature of wing, and sudden 
suspension in the air, he knows him to be the fish- hawk, 

K 



146 RED-KNIFE INDIANS. [1789. 

settling over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye 
kindles at the sight, and balancing himself, with half- 
opened wings, on the branch, he watches the result. 
Down, rapid as an arrow from heaven, descends the object 
of his attention; the roar of its wings reaching the ear as 
it disappears in the deep, making the surges foam around! 
At this moment the eager looks of the eagle are all ardour, 
and levelling his neck for flight, he sees the fish-hawk once 
more emerge, struggling with his prey, and mounting in 
the air with screams of exultation. These are the signal 
for our hero, who, launching into the air, instantly gives 
chase, and soon gains on the fish- hawk; each exerts his 
utmost to mount above the other, displaying in these ren- 
contres the most sublime aerial evolutions. The unencum- 
bered eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the point of 
reaching his opponent, when, with a sudden scream, pro- 
bably of despair and honest execration, the latter drops his 
fish; the eagle, poising himself for a moment, as if to take 
a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches it 
in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill- 
gotten booty silently away to the woods."* 

Since leaving Athabasca, the twilight had been so bright, 
owing to the short disappearance of the sun below the hori- 
zon, that even at midnight not a star was to be seen ; but as 
they glided along the lake they were greeted by the moon, 
which rose beautifully above the woods, with her lower 
horn in a state of eclipse. The obscuration continued for 
about six minutes in a cloudless sky.-j- Coasting along the 
shore, they came to a lodge of Red Knife Indians, so 
denominated from their using copper knives. One of these 
men engaged to conduct them to the mouth of the river, 
which was the object of their search; but such were the 



* American Ornithology, vol. i. p. 23. 
f Mackenzie's Travels, p. 11. 



1789.] MACKENZIE RIVER. 147 

impediments encountered from drift-ice, contrary winds, 
and the ignorance of the guide, whom the English Chief 
threatened to murder for engaging in a service for which he 
was unfit, that it was the 29 th of the month before they 
embarked upon the river since known by the name of the 
traveller who now first ascended it. On leaving the lake, 
the Mackenzie River was found to run to the westward, 
becoming gradually narrower for twenty-four miles, till it 
diminished into a stream not more than half a mile wide, 
with a strong current, and a depth of three and a half 
fathoms. A stiff breeze from the eastward now drove them 
on at a great rate, and after a rapid run of ten miles, the 
channel gradually widened till it assumed the appearance 
of a small lake, which proved to be the utmost limit known 
to their guide. They now came in sight of the chain of 
the Horn Mountains, bearing north-west, and had some 
difficulty in recovering the channel of the river. 

Having resumed their course on 1st July, they met 
with no interruption for five days, when they observed 
several smokes on the northern bank. On landing they 
discovered an encampment of five families of Slave and 
Dog- ribbed Indians, who, on the first appearance of the 
party, fled into the woods in consternation. The entreaties 
of the English Chief, whose language they understood, at 
length dissipated their apprehensions; and the distribution 
of a few beads, rings, and knives, with a supply of grog, 
reconciled them entirely to the strangers. Their account 
of the difficulties in the farther navigation of the river was 
not a little appalling. They asserted that it would require 
several winters to reach the sea, and that old age would 
inevitably overtake the party before their return. Monsters 
of horrid shapes and malignant disposition were represented 
as having their abodes in the rocky caves on the banks, 
ready to devour the presumptuous traveller who approached; 



148 SLAVE AND DOG-RIBBED INDIANS. [1789. 

and the more substantial impediment of two impassable 
falls was said to exist about thirty days' march from 
where they then were. 

Though such tales were treated with contempt by Mac- 
kenzie, the Indians, already tired of the voyage, drank 
them in with willing ears, and they could scarcely be per- 
suaded to pursue their journey. On consenting to proceed, 
one of the Dog-ribbed Indians was induced, by the present 
of a kettle, an axe, and some other articles, to accompany 
them as a guide; but when the time of embarkation 
arrived, his love of home came upon him with such violence, 
that he used every artifice to escape from his agreement, 
and at last was actually forced on board. Previous to his 
departure, a singular ceremony took place: with great 
solemnity he cut off a lock of his hair, and dividing it into 
three parts, fastened one to the upper part of his wife's 
head, blowing on it thrice with the utmost violence, and 
uttering certain words as a charm. The other two locks 
he fixed with the same ceremonies to the heads of his two 
children. These Indians were in general a meagre, ugly, 
and ill-favoured race, particularly ill- made in the legs. 
Some of them wore their hair very long, others allowed a 
tress to fall behind, cutting the rest short round their ears. 
A few old men had beards, whilst the young and middle- 
aged appeared to have pulled out every hair on their chin. 
Each cheek was adorned by two double lines tattooed from 
the ear to the nose, of which the gristle was perforated so 
as to admit a goose- quill or a small piece of wood. Their 
clothing consisted of dressed deer-skins. For winter wear 
these were prepared with the fur, and the shirts made of 
them decorated with a neat embroidery, composed of porcu- 
pine-quills and the hair of the moose-deer, coloured red, 
black, yellow, or white. Their shirts reached to the 
mid-thigh, whilst their upper garments covered the whole 



1789.] EFFECT OF ELOQUENCE ON BRUIN. 149 

body, having a fringe round the bottom. Their leggins, 
which were embroidered round the ankle and sewed to their 
shoes, reached to mid-thigh. The dress of the women 
was nearly the same as that of the men. They wore gor- 
gets of horn or wood, and had bracelets of the same mate- 
rials. On their head was placed a fillet or bandeau, formed 
of strips of leather, embroidered richly with porcupine- 
quills, and stuck round with bears' claws or talons of wild 
fowl. Their belts and garters were neatly constructed of 
the sinews of wild animals and porcupine- quills. From 
these belts descended a long fringe composed of strings of 
leather, and worked round with hair of various colours, and 
their mittens hung from their neck in a position convenient 
for the reception of their hands.* Their arms and weapons 
for the chase were bows and arrows, spears, daggers, and a 
large club formed of the rein- deer horn, called a pogamagan. 
The bows were about five or six feet long, with strings of 
sinews; and flint, iron, or copper, supplied barbs to the 
arrows. Their spears, nearly six feet long, were pointed 
with bone, whilst their stone- axes were fastened with cords 
of green skin to a wooden handle. Their canoes were 
light, and so small as to carry only one person. 

Some of the men wore collars made of the claws of the 
barren-ground bear, an ornament much coveted and gloried 
in by them, as being incontestible proof of their courage 
and prowess in slaying an animal of which Indians gene- 
rally are exceedingly afraid. It is narrated, that as Kes- 
karrah, an old Indian, was one day seated at the door of 
his tent near Fort Enterprise, a large bear suddenly made 
its appearance on the opposite bank of a small stream, and 
remained stationary for some time, curiously eyeing the 
old gentleman, and apparently deliberating whether to eat 

* Mackenzie's Travels, p. 35-37. 



150 GREAT BEAR LAKE RIVER. [1789. 

him up at that moment or wait till supper- time. Keskar- 
rah, thinking himself in great jeopardy, and having no one 
to assist him but a wife as old as himself, immediately gave 
utterance to the following oration : — " Oh, bear ! I never 
did you any harm ; I have always had the highest respect 
for you and your relations, and never killed any of them 
except through necessity : go away, good bear, and let me 
alone, and I promise not to molest you." Bruin instantly 
took his departure ; and the orator, never doubting that he 
owed his safety to his eloquence, on his arrival at the fort 
frequently favoured the company with his speech at full 
length. In the stomach of one of these animals which 
Dr. Richardson dissected, he found the remains of a seal, a 
marmot, a large quantity of the long sweet roots of some 
Astragali and Hedysara, with some wild berries and a 
little grass. 

On 5th July the party re- embarked. Continuing their 
course west- south-west, they passed the Great Bear Lake 
River ; and steering through numerous islands, came in 
sight of a ridge of snowy mountains, frequented, according 
to their guide, by herds of bears and small white buffaloes. 
The banks of the river appeared to be pretty thickly peo- 
pled ; and though at first the natives uniformly attempted 
to escape, the offer of presents generally brought them 
back, and procured a seasonable supply of hares, partridges, 
fish, or rein-deer. The same stories of spirits or manitous 
which haunted the stream, and of fearful rapids that would 
dash the canoes to pieces, were repeated by these tribes ; 
and the guide, upon whom such representations had a power- 
ful effect, decamped in the night during a storm of thunder 
and lightning. His place, however, was soon supplied; 
and, after a short sail, they approached an encampment of 
Indians, whose brawny figures, healthy appearance, and 
great cleanliness, showed them to be a superior race to 



1789.] QUARRELLER INDIANS. 151 

those lately passed. From them Mackenzie learnt that he 
must sleep ten nights before arriving at the sea, and in 
three nights would meet the Esquimaux, with whom they 
had been formerly at war, but were now in a state of peace. 
One of these people, whose language was most intelligible 
to the interpreter, agreed to accompany the party, but be- 
came dreadfully alarmed when some of the men discharged 
their fowling-pieces. It was evident none of this race had 
ever heard the report of fire-arms. To reconcile him to 
his departure, his two brothers followed in their canoes, 
and diverted him with native songs, and other airs said to 
be imitations of those of the Esquimaux. The triumph of 
music was never more strikingly exhibited; from deep 
dejection the Indian at once passed into a state of the 
highest and most ludicrous excitement, keeping time to the 
songs by a variety of grotesque gesticulations, performed 
with such unceasing rapidity, and so little regard to the 
slenderness of the bark, which quivered under his weight, 
that they expected every moment to see it upset. In one 
of his paroxysms, shooting his canoe alongside of Mac- 
kenzie's, he leaped into it, and commenced an Esquimaux 
dance. At last he was restored to some degree of com- 
posure, which became complete on their passing a hill, where 
he informed them that three winters ago the Esquimaux 
had slain his grandfather.* 

Mackenzie soon after reached the tents of a tribe named 
Deguthee-Dinees, or Quarrellers, who justified their name 
by the menacing gestures with which they received the 
strangers' approach. A few presents, however, reconciled 
them to the intrusion ; and they communicated the gratify- 
ing intelligence that the distance overland to the sea, either 
by an easterly or westerly route, was inconsiderable. The 

* Mackenzie's Travels, p. 51. 



152 ESQUIMAUX HOUSES. [1789. 

party now pushed on with renewed hopes ; and the river 
soon after separating into several streams, they chose the 
middle and largest, which ran north. This shortly brought 
in sight a range of snowy mountains, stretching far to the 
northward ; and, by an observation, Mackenzie found the 
latitude to be 67° 47', which convinced him that the waters 
on which their frail barks were then gliding must flow 
into the great Hyperborean Ocean.* At this moment, 
when within a few days of accomplishing the great object 
of their journey, the Indians sunk into a fit of despondency, 
and hesitated to proceed. The guide pleaded his ignorance 
of the country, as he had never before penetrated to the 
shores of the Benahulla Toe, or White Man's Lake. Mac- 
kenzie assured them he would return if they did not reach 
it in seven days, and prevailed on them to continue their 
course. 

It was now the 11th of July, and the sun at midnight 
was still considerably above the horizon, whilst every- 
thing denoted the proximity of the sea. On landing at a 
deserted encampment, still marked by the ashes of some 
Esquimaux fires, they observed several pieces of whale- 
bone, and a place where train-oil had been spilt. Soon 
after they came to three houses recently left by the natives. 
The ground-plot of these habitations was oval, about fifteen 
feet long, ten feet wide in the middle, and eight feet at 
either end; the whole was dug about twelve inches below 
the surface, one-half being covered with willow-branches, 
and probably forming the bed of the whole family. In the 
middle of the other half, a space four feet wide, which had 
been hollowed to the depth of twelve inches, was the only 
spot where a grown person could stand upright. One side 
of it was covered with willow-branches, and the other 

* Mackenzie's Travels, p. 54. 



1789.] DISAPPEARANCE OF VEGETATION. 153 

formed the hearth. The door, in one end of the house, 
was about two feet and a half high by two feet wide, and 
was reached through a covered way about five feet long; 
so that the only access to this curious dwelling was by 
creeping on all fours. On the top was an orifice about 
eighteen inches square, which served the triple purpose of 
a window, a chimney, and an occasional door. The under 
ground part of the floor was lined with split wood, whilst 
cross pieces of timber, laid on six or eight upright stakes, 
supported an oblong square roof ; the whole being formed 
of drift-wood, and covered with branches and dry grass, 
over which was spread earth a foot thick. On either side 
of these houses were a few square holes, about two feet deep, 
covered with split wood and earth, excepting one small 
place in the middle, which appeared to be contrived for the 
preservation of the winter stock of provisions. In and 
about the houses lay sledge-runners, and bones, pieces of 
whalebone, and poplar-bark cut in circles, used evidently 
to buoy the nets ; and before each habitation a great num- 
ber of stumps of trees were driven into the ground, upon 
which its late possessors had probably hung their nets and 
fish to dry in the sun. 

The signs of vegetation were by this time scarcely per- 
ceptible; the trees had dwindled into a few dwarf willows, 
not more than three feet high; and though the foot-marks 
on the sandy beach of some of the islands showed that the 
natives had recently been there, all attempts to obtain a 
sight of them proved unavailing. The discontent of the 
guide and of the Indian hunters was now renewed; but 
their assertion that on the morrow they were to reach a 
large lake in which the Esquimaux killed a huge fish, and 
whose shores were inhabited by white bears, convinced 
Mackenzie that this description referred to the Arctic Sea, 
with its mighty denizen, the whale. He accordingly pressed 



154 MACKENZIE REACHES THE ARCTIC SEA. [1789. 

forward with fresh ardour, and the canoes were soon car- 
ried hy the current to the entrance of the lake, which, from 
all the accompanying circumstances, appears to have been 
an arm of the Arctic Ocean. It was quite open to the 
westward, and by an observation the latitude was found 
to be 69°. From the spot where this survey was taken, 
they now continued their course to the westernmost point 
of a high island, which they reached after a run of fifteen 
miles, and around it the utmost depth of water was only 
five feet. The lake appeared to be covered with ice for 
about two leagues' distance, no land was seen ahead, and 
it was found impossible to proceed farther. Happily, when 
they had thus reached the farthest point of their progress 
northward, and were about to return in great disappoint- 
ment, two circumstances occurred which rendered it certain 
that they had penetrated to the sea: The first was the 
appearance of many large floating substances in the water, 
believed at first to be masses of ice, which, on being ap- 
proached, turned out to be whales; and the second, the 
rise and fall of the tide, observed both at the eastern and 
western end of the island, which they named Whale 
Island.* Having, in company with the English Chief, 
ascended to its highest ground, Mackenzie saw the solid 
ice extending to the eastward; and to the west, as far as 
the eye could reach, they dimly discerned a chain of moun- 
tains apparently about twenty leagues' distance, stretching 
to the northward. Many islands were seen to the eastward ; 
but though they came to a grave, on which lay a bow, a 
paddle, and a spear, they met no living human beings in 
these arctic solitudes. The red-fox and the rein-deer, flocks 
of beautiful plovers, some venerable white owls, and seve- 
ral large white gulls, were the only natives. Previous to 

* Mackenzie, pp. 64, G/5. 



1789.] Mackenzie's return. 155 

setting out on their return, a post was erected close to the 
tents, upon which the traveller engraved the latitude of 
the place, his own name, the number of persons by whom he 
was accompanied, and the time they had spent on the island. 
It was now the 1 6th of July, and they re- embarked on 
their homeward voyage. On the 21st the sun, which for 
some time had never set, descended below the horizon, and 
the same day eleven of the natives joined them. They re- 
presented their tribe as numerous, and perpetually at war 
with the Esquimaux, who had broken a treaty into which 
they had inveigled the Indians, and butchered many of 
them. Occasionally a strong body ascended the river in 
large canoes, in search of flints to point their spears and 
arrows. At present they were on the banks of a lake to the 
eastward, hunting rein-deer, and would soon begin to catch 
big fish (whales) for their winter stock. They had been 
informed that the same Esquimaux, eight or ten winters 
ago, saw to the westward, on White Man's Lake, several 
large canoes full of white men, who gave iron in exchange 
for leather. On landing at a lodge of natives farther down 
the river, the English Chief obtained some other particulars 
from a Dog-ribbed Indian, who had been driven by some 
private quarrel from his own nation, and lived among the 
Hare Indians. According to his information, there was a 
much larger river to the south-west of the mountains, 
which fell into White Man's Lake. The people on its 
banks were a gigantic and wicked race, who could kill 
common men with their eyes, and sailed in huge canoes. 
There was, he added, no known communication by water 
with this great river; but those who had seen it went over 
the mountains, and it flowed towards the mid-day sun. 
This description proceeded, he acknowledged, not from 
personal observation, but was taken from the report of 
others who inhabited the opposite mountains. Mackenzie 



156 NEW TRIBE OF INDIANS. [1789. 

having fallen in with one of these strangers, by a bribe of 
some beads prevailed upon him to delineate the circum- 
jacent country and the course of the unknown river upon 
the sand. The map proved a very rude production. He 
traced out a long point of land between the rivers without 
paying the least attention to the courses. This isthmus 
he represented as running into the great lake, at the extre- 
mity of which, as he had been told by Indians of other 
nations, fhere was built a Benahulla Couin, or White 
Man's Fort. " This," says Mackenzie, " I took to be 
Oonalaska Fort, and consequently the river to the west to 
be Cook's River, and that the body of water or sea into 
which the river discharges itself at Whale Island communi- 
cated with Norton Sound." 

Mackenzie now endeavoured to procure a guide across 
the mountains, but the natives steadily refused ; and any 
additional intelligence which they communicated regarding 
the country only consisted of legends concerning the super- 
natural power and ferocity of its inhabitants. They were 
represented as a sort of monsters with wings, who fed on 
huge birds which, though killed by them with ease, no 
other mortal would venture to assail. Having gravely 
stated this, they began, both young and old, to jump and 
dance with astonishing violence and perseverance, imitating 
the cries of the rein-deer, bear, and wolf, in the hope of 
intimidating Mackenzie ; but when he threatened with an 
angry aspect to force one of them along with him across 
the mountains, a sudden fit of sickness seized the whole 
party, and in a faint tone, which formed a ludicrous con- 
trast to their former vociferation, they declared they would 
expire the instant they were taken from their homes. In 
the end, the traveller was compelled to leave them without 
accomplishing his object.* 

* Mackenzie, p. 87. 



1789.] THE HORNED OWL. 157 

On 1st August, as the expedition approached the River 
of the Bear Lake, the stars, which hitherto, from the 
extreme clearness of the twilight, had continued invisible, 
began to twinkle in the sky, and the air from being oppres- 
sively sultry became so cold, that perpetual exercise could 
scarcely keep the men warm. At nights they lay shiver- 
ing and wakeful, looking up into the cold sky, or dreamily 
listening to the solemn cry of the horned- owl. This ill- 
omened bird of darkness seldom fails to serenade the arctic 
traveller during the silent hours of night. " Its loud noctur- 
nal cries," says Dr. Richardson, "issuing from the gloomiest 
recesses of the forest, are said to bear a resemblance to a 
hollow and sepulchral human voice, and have thus been 
the frequent source of alarm to the benighted traveller. 
A party of Scottish Highlanders, in the service of the 
Hudson's Bay Company, happened in a winter journey to 
encamp after nightfall in a dense clump of trees, the dark 
tops of which, and their lofty stems, gave a solemnity to 
the scene, strongly excitable of superstitious feelings. The 
solemn effect was heightened by the discovery of a tomb, 
which, with a natural taste not unfrequently exhibited by 
the Indians, was placed in the centre of this secluded spot. 
The travellers had finished their evening repast, and were 
trimming their fire for the night, when for the first time the 
slow and dismal tones of the horned- owl fell on their ear. 
They at once concluded that a voice so mysterious and 
unearthly must be the moaning spirit of the departed, whose 
hallowed fane they had disturbed by inadvertently making 
a fire of the timber of his tomb. They consequently passed 
a long night of sleepless fear, and gladly quitted the ill- 
omened spot with the earliest dawn." The women were now 
constantly employed in making shoes of moose- skin, as a 
pair did not last more than a day, whilst the hunters 
brought in supplies of geese, rein-deer, and beaver ; and on 



158 MACKENZIE CONCLUDES HIS FIRST JOURNEY. [1792. 

one occasion a wolf was killed, roasted, and eaten with 
great satisfaction. On 22d August they reached the 
entrance of the Slave Lake, after which their progress 
homeward presented no feature of interest, and on 12th 
September they arrived in safety at Fort Chepewyan, after 
an absence of one hundred and two days. The importance 
of this journey must be apparent, on considering it in con- 
nection with the expedition of Hearne. Both travellers had 
succeeded in reaching the shores of an arctic sea ; and it 
became not only an established fact that there was an ocean 
of great extent in the north of America, but it was rendered 
extremely probable that this sea formed its continuous 
boundary. 

Mackenzie concluded his first journey in September 1789, 
and about three years afterwards undertook a second expe- 
dition, which proved still more difficult and hazardous, and 
equally important and satisfactory in its results. His object 
was to ascend the Peace River, which rises in the Rocky 
Mountains, and crossing these, to penetrate to that unknown 
river which in his former journey had been the subject of 
his unwearied inquiry. This he conjectured must com- 
municate with the sea ; and, pursuing its course, he hoped 
to reach the shores of the Pacific. Setting out accordingly 
on 10th October 1792, he pushed on to the remotest Euro- 
pean settlement, where he spent the winter in a traffic 
for furs with the Beaver and Rocky Indians. Having 
despatched six canoes to Fort Chepewyan with the cargo 
he had collected, he engaged hunters and interpreters, and 
launched the canoe in which he had determined to prose- 
cute his discoveries. Her dimensions were twenty-five 
feet long within, exclusive of the curves of stem and stern, 
twenty- six inches hold, and four feet nine inches beam. 
She was at the same time so light, that two men could 
carry her three or four miles without resting. In this 



1792.] Mackenzie's second journey. 159 

slender vessel they not only stowed away their provisions, 
presents, arms, ammunition, and baggage, to the weight of 
three thousand pounds, but found room for seven Europeans, 
two Indians, and the leader himself. On embarking, the 
winter interpreter left in charge of the fort eould not refrain 
from tears when he anticipated the dangers they were about 
to encounter, whilst they themselves fervently offered up 
their prayers to Almighty God for a safe return. 

The commencement of their voyage was propitious ; and 
under a serene sky, with a keen but healthy air, the bark 
glided through some beautiful scenery. On the west side 
of the river the ground rose in a gently- ascending lawn, 
broken at intervals by abrupt precipices, and extending in 
a rich woodland perspective as far as the eye could reach. 
This magnificent amphitheatre presented groves of poplar 
in every direction, whose openings were enlivened with 
herds of elks and buffaloes ; the former choosing the steeps 
and uplands, the latter preferring the plains. At this time 
the buffaloes were attended by their young ones, which 
frisked about, whilst the female elks were great with young. 
The whole country displayed an exuberant verdure; the 
trees which bore blossoms were rapidly bursting into flower, 
and the soft velvet rind of the branches reflected the oblique 
rays of a rising or a setting sun, imparting a cheerfulness 
and brilliancy to the scene, which gladdened the heart with 
the buoyant influences of the season.* "The transition," 
says Dr. Richardson, " is so sudden from the perfect repose, 
the deathlike silence of an Arctic winter, to the animated 
bustle of summer j the trees spread their foliage with such 
magical rapidity, and every succeeding morning opens with 
such agreeable accessions of feathered songsters to swell 
the chorus — their plumage as gay and unimpaired as when 

* Mackenzie's Travels, pp. 154, 155. 



160 GRIZZLY BEARS. [1793. 

they enlivened the deep green forests of tropical climes — 
that the return of a northern spring excites in the mind a 
deep feeling of the beauties of the season, a sense of the 
bounty and providence of the Supreme Being, which is 
cheaply purchased by the tedium of nine months of winter. 
The most verdant lawns and cultivated glades of Europe, 
the most beautiful productions of art, fail in producing that 
exhilaration and joyous buoyancy of mind which we have 
experienced in treading the wilds of Arctic America, when 
their snowy covering has been just replaced by an infant 
but vigorous vegetation. It is impossible for the traveller 
to refrain, at such moments, from joining his aspirations to 
the song which every creature around is pouring forth to 
the Great Creator." After a few days the air became 
colder, the country more desolate, and the weather was 
occasionally broken by storms of thunder and lightning. 
The track of a large grizzly bear was discerned on the banks. 
The Indians treat this monster of the woods with con- 
siderably more respect than they do most other animals, 
owing to his great ferocity, and the readiness with which 
he resents an insult, or accepts a challenge. An amusing 
adventure occurred to Catlin one morning after he had 
passed the night on the banks of the Missouri. " In the 
morning," says he, " before sunrise, as usual, Bogard (who 
was a Yankee, and a wide-awake fellow, just retiring from 
a ten years' siege of hunting and trapping in the Rocky 
Mountains) thrust his head out from under the robe, rubbed 
his eyes open, and exclaimed as he grasped for his gun, 
1 By darn, look at old Cale, will you I ' Ba'tiste, who 
was fonder of his dreams, snored away, muttering some- 
thing that I could not understand, when Bogard seized him 
with a grip that instantly shook off his iron slumbers. I 
rose at the same time, and all eyes were turned at once 
upon Caleb (as the grizzly bear is familiarly called by the 



1772.] INDIAN COOKERY. 129 

obliged to eat their meat raw, with the enjoyment of no 
higher luxury than a pipe, they yet pushed forward with 
unshaken perseverance, and, after a week of great suffer- 
ing, had the comfort to observe a complete change in the 
weather, which first became moderate, and soon after so 
sultry that it was sometimes impossible to move at all. 

Early on the morning of the 13th July, the expedition 
crossed a long chain of hills, from the top of which they 
discerned a branch that joins the Coppermine, about forty 
miles from its influx into the sea. Here the Indians killed 
a few fine buck-deer, procured some excellent firewood, 
and, as it was not certain that so favourable an opportunity 
would soon occur again, they sat down with appetites 
sharpened by long privation, spirits raised by the recollec- 
tion of hardships overcome, and the almost certain prospect 
of ere long accomplishing the great object of their expedi- 
tion, to the most cheerful and comfortable meal they had 
enjoyed for a long period. The reader will be amused 
with Hearne's description of this delicious repast, and of 
the mysteries of Indian cookery : — " As such favourable 
opportunities of indulging the appetite," says he, " happen 
but seldom, it is a general rule with the Indians, which we 
did not neglect, to exert every art in dressing their food 
which the most refined skill in Indian cooking has been 
able to invent, and which consists chiefly in boiling, broil- 
ing, and roasting ; but of all the dishes cooked by these 
people, a becatee, as it is called in their language, is cer- 
tainly the most delicious (at least for a change) which can 
be prepared from a deer only, without any other ingredient. 
It is a kind of Scotch ' haggis,' made with the blood, a 
good quantity of fat shred small, some of the tenderest of 
the flesh, together with the heart and lungs, cut, or more 
commonly torn, into small shivers — all which is put into 
the stomach and roasted, by being suspended over the fire 
I 



130 THE COPPERMINE RIVER. [1772. 

by a string. Care must be taken that it does not get too 
much heat at first, as the bag would thereby be liable to 
be burnt, and the contents let out. When it is sufficiently 
done, it will emit a rich steam, in the same manner as a 
fowl or a joint of meat, which is as much as to say, * Come, 
eat me now !' and if it be taken in time, before the blood 
or the contents are too much done, it is certainly a most 
delicious morsel, even without pepper, salt, or any other 
seasoning.' 7 * 

Having regaled themselves in this sumptuous manner, 
and taken a few hours' rest, they once more set out, and, 
after a walk of nine or ten miles, at last arrived at the 
Coppermine. Scarcely had Hearne congratulated himself 
on reaching the great object of his mission, unpacked his 
surveying instruments, and prepared to follow its progress 
to the great Arctic Ocean, when one of those dark and 
terrible scenes occurred which are so strikingly character- 
istic of savage life. As soon as Matonabbee and his party 
gained the banks of the river, three spies were sent out to 
discover whether any Esquimaux were in the neighbour- 
hood. After a short absence, they returned with intelli- 
gence that they had seen five tents, about twelve miles 
distant, on the west side of the river. All was now warlike 
preparation : the guns, knives, and spears, were carefully 
examined; and as they learned that the nature of the ground 
would render it easy to advance unperceived, it was deter- 
mined to steal upon their victims in this manner, and put 
them to death. This plan was executed with the most 
savage exactness ; and nothing could present a more dread- 
ful view of human nature in its unenlightened state, than 
the perfect unanimity of purpose which pervaded the whole 
body of Indians upon this horrid occasion, although at 
other times they were in no respect amenable to discipline. 
* Hearne's Journey, p. 144. 



1772.] ATTACK ON THE ESQUIMAUX. 131 

Each man first painted his target, some with a represen- 
tation of the sun, others of the moon, and several with the 
pictures of beasts and birds of prey, or of imaginary beings, 
which they affirmed to be the inhabitants of the elements, 
upon whose assistance they relied for success in their enter- 
prise. They then moved with the utmost stealth in the direc- 
tion of the tents, taking care not to cross any of the hills 
which concealed their approach. It was a miserable circum- 
stance that these poor creatures had taken up their abode 
in such ground that their enemies, without being observed, 
formed an ambuscade not two hundred yards distant, and 
lay for some time watching the motions of the Esquimaux, 
as if marking their victims. Here the last preparations for 
the attack were made: The Indians tied up their long 
black hair in a knot behind, lest it should be blown in their 
eyes ; painted their faces black and red, which gave them 
a hideous aspect ; deliberately tucked up the sleeves of 
their jackets close under the armpits, and pulled off their 
stockings ; whilst some, still more eager to render them- 
selves light for running, threw off their jackets, and stood 
with their weapons in their hands quite naked, except their 
breech-clothes and shoes. By the time all were ready it 
was near one o'clock in the morning ; when, finding the 
Esquimaux quiet, they rushed from their concealment. In 
an instant, roused by the shouts of the savages, the unfor- 
tunate wretches, men, women, and children, ran naked out 
of the tents, and attempted to escape ; but the Indians had 
surrounded them on the land side, and as none dared to leap 
into the river, all were murdered in cold blood; whilst 
Hearne, whom a regard for his personal safety had com- 
pelled to accompany the party, stood a short way off rooted 
to the ground in horror and agony. 

" The shrieks and groans of the poor expiring wretches," 
says he, in his striking account of this dreadful episode in 



132 DREADFUL MASSACRE. [1772. 

savage life, " were truly distressing ; and my horror was 
much increased at seeing a young girl, about eighteen years 
of age, killed so near me that when the first spear was struck 
into her side she fell down at my feet and twisted round my 
legs, so that it was with difficulty that I could disengage 
myself from her dying grasp. As two Indian men pur- 
sued this unfortunate victim, I solicited very hard for her 
life ; but the murderers made no reply till they had stuck 
both their spears through her body, and transfixed her to 
the ground. They then looked me sternly in the face, and 
began to ridicule me by asking if I wanted an Esquimaux 
wife, whilst they paid not the smallest regard to the shrieks 
and agony of the poor wretch, who was turning round their 
spears like an eel. Indeed, after receiving from them much 
abusive language on the occasion, I was at length obliged 
to desire that they would be more expeditious in despatch- 
ing their victim out of her misery, otherwise I should be 
obliged out of pity to assist in the friendly office of putting 
an end to the existence of a fellow- creature who was so 
cruelly wounded. On this request being made, one of the 
Indians hastily drew his spear from ihe place where it was 
at first lodged, and pierced it through her breast near the 
heart. The love of life, however, even in this most miser- 
able state, was so predominant, that though this might be 
justly called the most merciful act which could be done for 
the poor creature, it seemed to be unwelcome ; for, though 
much exhausted by pain and loss of blood, she made several 
efforts to ward off the friendly blow. My situation and the 
terror of my mind at beholding this butchery cannot easily 
be conceived, much less described. Though I summoned all 
the fortitude I was master of on the occasion, it was with 
difficulty that I could refrain from tears ; and I am confi- 
dent that my features must have feelingly expressed how 
sincerely I was affected at the barbarous scene I then wit- 



1772.] COPPER MINES. 133 

nessed. Even at this hour I cannot reflect on the transac- 
tions of that horrid day without shedding tears." * 

After making an accurate survey of the river till its 
junction with the sea, Hearne proceeded to one of the 
copper mines, which he found scarcely to deserve the name, 
it being nothing more than a chaotic mass of rocks and 
gravel, rent by an earthquake, or some other convulsion, 
into numerous fissures, through one of which flowed a small 
river. Although the Indians had talked in magnificent 
terms of this mine, after a search of four hours a solitary 
piece of ore was all that could be discovered ; and instead 
of pointing out the hills entirely composed of copper, and 
the quantities of rich ore with which they had affirmed it 
would be easy to freight a large vessel, they now told a 
ridiculous story of some insults offered to the goddess of the 
mine, who in revenge declared that she would sit upon it 
till she and it sunk together into the earth. In consequence 
of this threat, they next year found her sunk up to the waist, 
and the quantity of copper much decreased, whilst the fol- 
lowing summer she had entirely disappeared, and the whole 
mine along with her. 

In reaching the sea, Hearne had accomplished the great 
object of his journey, and his homeward route did not vary 
materially from his course to the Arctic Ocean. On 31st 
July they arrived at the place where the Indians had left 
their families, and on 9th August resumed their course to 
the south-west ; travelling, with frequent intervals of rest, 
till, on 24th November, they reached the northern shore of 
the great Athabasca Lake. In this latitude, at this season, 
the sun's course formed an extremely small segment of a 
circle above the horizon, scarcely rising half-way up the 
trees; but the brilliancy of the stars, and the vivid and 

* Hearne's Journey, pp. 154, 155. 



134 BUFFALO HUNTING [1772. 

beautiful light emitted by the aurora borealis, even without 
the aid of the moon, amply compensated for the want of the 
sun, so that at midnight Hcarne could see to read very 
small print. In the deep stillness of the night, also, these 
northern meteors were distinctly heard to make a rushing 
and crackling noise, like the waving of a large flag in a 
fresh gale of wind.* According to the information of the 
natives, the Athabasca Lake is nearly one hundred and 
twenty leagues long from east to west, and twenty wide from 
north to south. It was beautifully studded with islands, 
covered with tall poplars, birch, and pines, which were 
plentifully stocked with deer, and abounded with pike, 
trout, and barbie, besides the species known by the Indians 
under the names of tittameg, methy, and shees. 

The country through which they had hitherto travelled 
had been extremely barren and hilly, covered with stunted 
firs and dwarf willows ; but it now subsided into a fine 
plain, occasionally varied with tall woods, and well stocked 
with buffalo and moose-deer. The party spent some days 
with much pleasure in hunting ; and as the flesh of the 
younger buffaloes was delicious, their exhausted stock of 
provisions was seasonably supplied. 

The bison or buffalo is, in appearance, one of the most 
terrific animals in America, and perhaps in the whole 
world. It roams the boundless prairies in immense herds, 
and its flesh forms the principal food of the Indian tribes 
who dwell there; while its hide, covered with long shaggy 
hair, supplies them with bedding and raiment. It is hunted 
on foot, but more frequently on horseback, and a more 
exciting species of chase can scarcely be imagined. Cat- 
lin, who spent several years among the Indians at the 
head- waters of the Missouri, gives many animated accounts 

* Hearne's Journey, p. 224. 




ss^i 






■ .'La *£ 

^ . tipper. 




BUFFALO-HUNTING. 

The Bison or Buffalo is, in appearance, one of the most terrific animals in 

Amercia, and perhaps in the whole world. . . . It is hunted on foot, but 

more frequently on horseback ; and a more exciting species ot chase can 

scarcely be imagined. — Page 134. 



1772.] IN THE PRAIRIES. 135 

of his rencontres with the buffalo. The following sketch 
of a hunting excursion made by him, with several gentle- 
men and Indians belonging to a trading company in these 
regions, will show how these huge monsters are destroyed, 
and what risks are encountered by those who destroy 
them : — 

" As we were mounted," says he, " and ready to start, 
M'Kenzie called up some four or five of his men, and told 
them to follow immediately on our trail, with as many one- 
horse carts, which they were to harness up, to bring home 
the meat : ' Ferry them across the river in the scow,' said he, 
' and, following our trail through the bottom, you will find 
us on the plain yonder, between the Yellowstone and the 
Missouri Rivers, with meat enough to load you home.' * w * 
We all crossed the river, and galloped away a couple of 
miles or so, when we mounted the bluff; and, to be sure, 
as was said, there was in full view of us a fine herd of 
some four or five hundred buffaloes, perfectly at rest, and 
in their own estimation (probably) perfectly secure. Some 
were grazing, and others were lying down and sleeping. 
We advanced within a mile or so of them in full view, and 
then came to a halt. Mons. Chardon ' tossed the feather ' 
(a custom always observed, to try the course of the wind), 
and we commenced ' stripping,' as it is termed (i. e., every 
man strips himself and his horse of every extraneous and 
unnecessary appendage of dress, &c, that might be an 
incumbrance in running) : hats are laid off, and coats, and 
bullet-pouches ; sleeves are rolled up, a handkerchief tied 
tightly round the head, and another round the waist ; car- 
tridges are prepared, and placed in the waistcoat pocket, 
or half-a-dozen bullets ' thro wed into the mouth,' &c. ; all 
of which takes up some ten or fifteen minutes, and is not, 
in appearance or in effect, unlike a council of war. Our 
leader lays the whole plan of the chase ; and, preliminaries 



336 BUFFALO HUNTING [1772. 

being fixed, guns charged, and ramrods in our hands, we 
mount and start for the onset. The horses are all trained 
for this business, and seem to enter into it with as much 
enthusiasm, and with as restless a spirit, as the riders 
themselves. While ' stripping' and mounting, they exhibit 
the most restless impatience ; and when ' approaching' 
(which is all of us abreast, at a slow walk, and in a straight 
line towards the herd, until they discover us and run), they 
all seem to have caught entirely the spirit of the chase, for 
the laziest nag among them prances with an elasticity in 
his step — champing his bit, his ears erect, his eyes strained 
out of his head, and fixed upon the game before him, whilst 
he trembles under the saddle of his rider. In this way 
we carefully and silently marched, until within some forty 
or fifty rods, when the herd discovering us, wheeled and 
laid their course in a mass. At this instant we all started 
(and all must start, for no one could check the fury of those 
steeds at that moment of excitement), and away we sailed, 
and over the prairie flew, in a cloud of dust which was 
raised by their trampling hoofs. M'Kenzie was foremost 
in the throng, and soon dashed off amidst the dust, and 
was out of sight — he was after the fattest and fastest. I 
had discovered a huge bull, whose shoulders towered above 
the whole band, and I picked my way through the crowd 
to make my way alongside of him. I went not for ' meat,' 
but for a trophy : I wanted his head and horns. I dashed 
along through the thundering mass, as they swept away 
over the plain, scarcely able to tell whether I was on a 
buffalo's back or on my horse — -hit, hooked, and jostled 
about, till at length I found myself alongside of my game, 
when I gave him a shot as I passed him. I saw guns 
flash in several directions about me, but I heard them not. 
Amidst the trampling throng, Mons. Chardon had wounded 
a stately bull, and at this moment was passing him again, 



1772.] IN THE PRAIRIES. 137 

with his piece levelled for another shot ; they were both 
at full speed — and I also — within the reach of the muzzle 
of my gun, when the bull instantly turned, receiving the 
horse upon his horns, and the ground received poor Char- 
don, who made a frog's leap of some twenty feet or more 
over the bull's back, and almost under my horse's heels. 
I wheeled my horse as soon as possible, and rode back to 
where Chardon lay, gasping to start his breath again; 
and, within a few paces of him, his huge victim, with his 
heels high in the air, and his horse lying across him. I 
dismounted instantly ; but Chardon was raising himself on 
his hands, with his eyes and mouth full of dirt, and feeling 
for his gun, which lay about thirty feet in advance of 
him!"* 

Dr. Richardson relates an anecdote which illustrates the 
danger sometimes encountered in hunting the buffalo on 
foot : " While I resided at Carlton House," says he, " Mr. 
Finnan M 'Donald, one of the Hudson's Bay Company's 
clerks, was descending the Saskatchewan in a boat, and 
one evening, having pitched his tent for the night, he went 
out in the dusk to look for game. It had become nearly 
dark, when he fired at a bison-bull, which was galloping 
over a small eminence ; and as he was hastening forward 
to see if his shot had taken effect, the wounded beast made 
a rush at him. He had presence of mind to seize the 
animal by the long hair on its forehead, as it struck him 
on the side with its horn ; and being a remarkably tall 
and powerful man, a struggle ensued, which continued 
until his wrist was severely sprained, and his arm rendered 
powerless. He then fell, and after receiving two or three 
blows, became senseless. Shortly after, he was found by 
his companions tying bathed in blood, being gored in 

* Catl in's North American Indians, vol. i. pp. 25, 26. 



138 EXTRAORDINARY STORY [1772. 

several places; and the bison was couched beside him, 
apparently waiting to renew the attack had he shown any 
signs of life. Mr. M 'Donald recovered from the immediate 
effects of the injuries he had received, but died a few 
months afterwards."* 

In one of their excursions an incident occurred strikingly 
characteristic of savage life. Hearne and his party came 
suddenly on the track of a strange snow-shoe, and follow- 
ing it to a wild part of the country, remote from any human 
habitation, they discovered a hut, in which a young Indian 
woman was sitting alone. She had lived for the last eight 
moons in absolute solitude, and recounted with affecting 
simplicity the circumstances by which she had been driven 
from her own people. She belonged, she said, to the tribe 
of the Dog- ribbed Indians, and in an inroad of the Atha- 
basca nation, in the summer of 1770, had been taken pri- 
soner. The savages, according to their invariable practice, 
stole upon the tents in the night, and murdered before her 
face her father, mother, and husband, whilst she and three 
other young women were reserved from the slaughter, and 
made captive. Her child, four or five months old, she 
contrived to carry with her, concealed among some cloth- 
ing; but on arriving at the place where the party had left 
their wives, her precious bundle was examined by the 
Athabasca women, one of whom tore the infant from its 
mother, and killed it on the spot. In Europe, an act so 
inhuman would, in all probability, have been instantly fol- 
lowed by the insanity of the parent; but in North America, 
though maternal affection is equally intense, the nerves are 
more sternly strung. So horrid a cruelty, however, deter- 
mined her, though the man whose property she had become 
was kind and careful of her, to take the first opportunity of 

* Fauna Boreali Americana, vol. i., p. 281. 



1772.] OF AN INDIAN WOMAN. 139 

escaping, with the intention of returning to her own nation; 
but the great distance, and the numerous winding rivers 
and creeks she had to pass, caused her to lose the way, 
and winter coming on, she had built a hut in this secluded 
spot. When discovered, she was in good health, well fed, 
and, in the opinion of Hearne, one of the finest Indian 
women he had ever seen. Five or six inches of hoop made 
into a knife, and the iron shank of an arrow-head which 
served as an awl, were the only implements she possessed; 
and with these she made snow-shoes and other useful 
articles. For subsistence she snared partridges, rabbits, 
and squirrels, and had killed two or three beavers and some 
porcupines. After the few deer- sinews she had brought 
with her were expended in making snares and sewing her 
clothing, she supplied their place with the sinews of rab- 
bits' legs, which she twisted together with great dexterity. 
Thus occupied, she not only became reconciled to her deso- 
late situation, but had found time to amuse herself by 
manufacturing little pieces of personal ornament. Her 
clothing was formed of rabbit-skins sewed together; the 
materials, though rude, being tastefully disposed, so as to 
make her garb assume a pleasing though desert-bred 
appearance. The singular circumstances under which she 
was found, her beauty and useful accomplishments, occa- 
sioned a contest among the Indians, as to who should have 
her for a wife; and the matter being decided, she accom- 
panied them in their journey. On 1 st March they left the 
level country of the Athabascas, and approached the stony 
hills bounding the territories of the Northern Indians, tra- 
versing which they arrived in safety at Prince of Wales' 
Fort on the 29th of June 1772, having been absent eighteen 
months and twenty-three days. 

The journey of Hearne must be regarded as forming an 
important era in the geography of America. For some 



140 NORTH-WEST FUR COMPANY. [1772. 

time it had been supposed that this vast continent extended 
in an almost unbroken mass towards the Pole; and we 
find it thus depicted in the maps of that period. The cir- 
cumstance of Hearne having reached the shore of the great 
Arctic Ocean at once demonstrated the fallacy of all such 
ideas. It threw a new and clear light upon the structure 
of this portion of the globe, and resting upon the results 
thus distinctly ascertained, the human mind, indefatigable 
in the pursuit of knowledge, started forward in a career of 
still more enlarged and interesting discovery.* 

Whilst the Hudson's Bay Company, by the mission of 
Mr. Hearne, vindicated their character from the charge of 
indifference to the cause of geographical discovery, another 
institution had arisen, under the title of the North-West 
Fur Company, which, though it did not rest on a royal 
charter, and had experienced in its earliest exertions many 
severe reverses, at last arrived, by the intelligence and 
perseverance of its partners and servants, at a degree of 
prosperity which surpassed the chartered companies of 
France and England. In the counting-house of Mr. Gre- 
gory, a partner of this company, was bred a native of 
Inverness, named Alexander Mackenzie. In conducting 
the practical details of the fur trade, he had been settled at 
an early period of life in the country to the north-west of 
Lake Superior, and became animated with the ambition of 
penetrating across the continent. For this undertaking he 
was eminently qualified; possessing an inquisitive and en- 
terprising mind with a strong frame of body, and combin- 
ing the fervid and excursive genius which has been said to 
characterize the Scots in general, with that more cautious 
and enduring temperament which belongs to the northern 
Highlander. 

* Murray's Discoveries and Travels in North America, vol. ii. p. 149. 



1789.] SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. 141 

On 3d June 1789, Mackenzie set out from Fort Che- 
pewyan, at the head of the Athabasca Lake, a station 
nearly central between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific. He 
had resided here for eight years, and was familiar with the 
difficulties of the journey, as well as aware of the most 
likely methods of surmounting them. He took with him 
four canoes. In the first he embarked with a German and 
four Canadians, two of the latter being accompanied by 
their wives. A Northern Indian, called the English Chief, 
who had been a follower of Matonabbee, the guide of Mr. 
Hearne, occupied the second, with his two wives. The 
third was paddled by two stout young Indians, who acted 
in the double capacity of hunters and interpreters ; whilst 
the fourth was laden with provisions, clothing, ammunition, 
and various articles intended as presents for the Indians. 
This last canoe was committed to the charge of Mr. le 
Roux, one of the company's clerks. 

On 4th June the party reached the Slave River, which 
connects the Athabasca and Slave Lakes, in a course of 
about one hundred and seventy miles ; and on the 9 th of the 
same month they arrived at the Slave Lake, without experi- 
encing any other inconveniences than those arising from the 
attacks of the mosquitoes during the heat of the dsiy, and the 
extreme cold in the morning and evening. In the river were 
frequent rapids, which obliged them to land and transport 
their canoes and luggage over the carrying-places — a toil- 
some process, but attended with no danger, as the path had 
been cleared by the Indians trading with the company. The 
banks were covered with various kinds of trees ; but owing 
to its inferior level and its rich black soil, the western side 
was more thickly wooded than the other. On the eastern 
bank, composed of a yellow clay mixed with gravel, the 
trees were smaller, but in full leaf, though the ground was 
not thawed above fourteen inches in depth. At a little 



142 BEAVER HOUSES. [1789. 

distance from the river were extensive plains frequented 
by herds of buffaloes ; the woods bordering its sides were 
tenanted by moose and rein-deer; and numerous colonies of 
beavers built their habitations on the small streams which 
fed the lake. 

The situation of beaver-houses is found to be various. 
When the animals are numerous, they inhabit lakes, ponds, 
and rivers, as well as those narrow creeks which connect 
the lakes together. Generally, however, they prefer flow- 
ing waters, probably on account of the advantages presented 
by the current in transporting the materials of their dwell- 
ings. They also prefer deepish water, no doubt because it 
affords a better protection from the frost. It is when they 
build in small creeks or rivers, the waters of which are 
liable to dry or be drained off, that they manifest that 
beautiful instinct with which Providence has gifted them — 
the formation of dams. These differ in shape, according 
to their particular localities. When the water has little 
motion, the dam is almost straight ; when the current is 
considerable, it is curved, with its convexity towards the 
stream. The materials made use of are drift-wood, green 
willows, birch, and poplars; also mud and stones inter- 
mixed in such a manner as must evidently contribute to 
the strength of the dam ; but there is no particular method 
observed except that the work is carried on with a regular 
sweep, and all the parts are made of equal strength. " In 
places," says Hearne, " which have been long frequented 
by beavers undisturbed, their dams, by frequent repairing, 
become a solid bank, capable of resisting a great force both 
of ice and water ; and as the willow, poplar, and birch, 
generally take root and shoot up, they by degrees form a 
kind of regular planted hedge, which I have seen in some 
places so tall, that birds have built their nests among the 
branches." 



1789.] BEAVER HOUSES. 143 

The beaver-houses are built of the same materials as the 
dams, and seldom contain more than four old, and six or 
eight young ones. There is little order or regularity in 
their structure. It frequently happens that some of the 
larger houses are found to have one or more partitions, 
but these are only parts of the main building left by the 
sagacity of the beavers to support the roof; and the apart- 
ments, as some are pleased to consider them, have usually 
no communication with each other, except by water. Those 
travellers who assert that the beavers have two doors to 
their dwellings, one on the land side, and the other next 
the water, manifest, according to Hearne, even a greater 
ignorance of the habits of these animals, than those who 
assign to them an elegant suite of apartments — for such a 
construction would render their houses of little use, either 
as a protection from their enemies, or as a covering from 
the winter's cold. 

It is not true that beavers drive stakes into the ground 
when building their houses ; they lay the pieces crosswise 
and horizontal ; neither is it true that the wood- work is 
first finished and then plastered ; for both houses and dams 
consist from the foundation of a mingled mass of mud and 
wood, mixed with stones when these can be procured. They 
carry the mud and stones between their fore- paws, and the 
wood in their mouths. They always work in the night, and 
with great expedition. They cover their houses late every 
autumn with fresh mud, which freezes when the frosts set 
in, and becomes almost as hard and solid as stone ; and thus 
neither wolves nor wolverenes can disturb their repose. 
When walking over their work, and especially when about 
to plunge into the water, they sometimes give a peculiar flap 
with their tails, which has no doubt occasioned the errone- 
ous belief that they use these organs exactly as a mason uses 
his trowel. Now, a tame beaver will flap by the fireside, 



144 TAME BEAVERS. [1789. 

where there is nothing but dust and ashes ; and it therefore 
only uses the trowel in common with the water- wagtail ; 
in other words, the quadruped, as well as the bird, is char- 
acterized by a peculiar motion of its caudal extremity. 

The food of this animal consists chiefly of the root of the 
plant called Nuphar luteum, which bears a resemblance to 
a cabbage- stalk, and grows at the bottom of lakes and 
rivers. It also gnaws the bark of birch, poplar, and willow 
trees. In summer, however, a more varied herbage, with 
the addition of berries, is consumed. When the ice breaks 
up in the spring, the beavers always leave their houses 
and rove about until a little before the fall of the leaf, when 
they return again to their old habitations, and lay in their 
winter stock of wood. Hearne gives the following account 
of some tame beavers which belonged to him : — " In cold 
weather they were kept in my own sitting room, where they 
were the constant companions of the Indian women and 
children, and were so fond of their company, that when the 
Indians were absent for any considerable time, the beavers 
discovered great signs of uneasiness, and on their return 
showed equal marks of pleasure, by fondling on them, 
crawling into their laps, lying on their backs, sitting erect 
like a squirrel, and behaving like children who see their 
parents but seldom. In general, during the winter, they 
lived on the same food as the women did, and were remark- 
ably fond of rice and plum-pudding ; they would eat part- 
ridges and fresh vension very freely, but I never tried them 
with fish, though I have heard they will at times prey on 
them. In fact, there are few graminivorous animals that 
may not be brought to be carnivorous." 

The lake was covered with ice, which had not given 
way except in a small strip round the shore, where the 
depth, nowhere exceeding three feet, was scarcely sufficient 
to float the canoes. Though now the 9th of June, there 



1793.] GRIZZLY BEARS. 161 

trappers in the Rocky Mountains — or more often ' Calc,' 
for brevity's sake). She was sitting up in the dignity and 
fury of her sex, within a few rods, and gazing upon us, 
with her two little cubs at her side ! Here was a fix, and 
a subject for the painter ; but I had no time to sketch it. 
I turned my eyes to the canoe, which had been fastened to 
the shore a few paces from us, and saw that everything had 
been pawed out of it, and all eatables had been without 
ceremony devoured. My packages of dresses and Indian 
curiosities had been drawn out upon the banks, and de- 
liberately opened and inspected. Everything had been 
scraped and pawed out to the bottom of the canoe ; and 
even the raw-hide thong with which it was tied to a stake, 
had been chewed, and, no doubt, swallowed, as there was 
no trace of it remaining. Nor was this peep into the 
secrets of our luggage enough for her insatiable curiosity : 
we saw by the prints of her huge paws that were left in the 
ground, that she had been perambulating our humble mat- 
tresses, smelling at our toes and noses, without choosing to 
molest us — verifying a trite saying of the country, ' that 
man lying down is medicine (i. e., mystery) to the grizzly 
bear,' though it is a well-known fact that man and beast, 
upon their feet, are sure to be attacked when they cross the 
path of this monster, which is the terror of all the country, 
often growing to the enormous size of eight hundred or one 
thousand pounds. Whilst we sat in the dilemma which I 
have just described, each one was hastily preparing his 
weapons for defence, when I proposed the mode of attack ; 
by which means I was in hopes to destroy her, capture the 
young ones, and bring her skin home as a trophy. My 
plans, however, entirely failed, though we were well armed; 
for Bogard and Ba'tiste both remonstrated with a vehe- 
mence that was irresistible, saying that the standing rule 
in the mountains was ' never to fight Caleb except in self- 
L 



162 THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. [1793. 

defence.' I was almost induced, however, to attack her 
alone, with my rifle in hand and a pair of heavy pistols, 
and a tomahawk and scalping-knife in my belt, when 
Ba'tiste suddenly thrust his arm over my shoulder, and, 
pointing in another direction, exclaimed in an emphatic 
tone, ' voila ! voila ! un corps de reserve, Monsr. Cataline, 
voila sa mari ! ' to which Bogard added, ' These darned 
animals are too much for us, we had better be off! ' at which 
my courage cooled, and we packed up and re- embarked as 
fast as possible, giving each one of them the contents ot 
our rifles as we drifted off in the current."* 

From this time till the 21st of May, the passage was 
attended with difficulties that would have disheartened a 
less energetic leader. The river being broken by frequent 
cascades and dangerous rapids, it was necessary to carry 
the canoe and luggage till they could resume their voyage 
in safety. On their nearer approach to the Rocky Moun- 
tains, the stream, hemmed in between stupendous rocks, 
presented a continuance of frightful torrents and imprac- 
ticable cataracts. The dangers to which they had already 
been exposed had greatly disheartened the men, and they 
began to murmur audibly, so that no alternative was left 
but to return. Indeed, there was some reason for this 
irresolution : by water farther progress was impossible, and 
they could only advance over a mountain whose sides were 
broken by sharp jagged rocks, and thickly covered with 
wood. Mackenzie despatched a reconnoitring party, with 
orders to ascend the mountain, and proceed in a straight 
course from its summit, keeping the line of the river till 
they ascertained that it was navigable. During their 
absence his people repaired the canoe, whilst he took an 
altitude which ascertained the latitude to be 56° 8'. At 

* Catlin's North American Indians, vol. i. pp. 71, 72. 



1793.] PERILS OF THE JOURNEY. 163 

sunset the scouts returned by different routes. They had 
penetrated through thick woods, ascended hills, and dived 
into valleys till they got beyond the rapids, and agreed, 
that though the difficulties to be encountered by land were 
alarming, it was their only course. Unpromising as the 
task appeared, their spirits had risen, and their murmurs 
were forgotten ; so that a kettle of wild rice sweetened with 
sugar, with the usual evening regale of rum, renewed their 
courage; and after a night's rest, they proceeded at break 
of day on their laborious journey. 

In the first place, the men cut a road up the mountain 
where the trees were smallest, felling some in such a 
manner as to make them fall parallel to the road without 
separating them entirely from the stumps, in this way 
forming a kind of railing on either side. The baggage 
and the canoe were then brought from the water-side to the 
encampment — an undertaking exceedingly perilous, as a 
single false step must have been followed by immersion 
into the river, which flowed here with furious rapidity. 
Having accomplished this labour, the party breathed a 
little, and then ascended the mountain with the canoe, 
having the line or rope by which it was drawn up doubled, 
and fastened successively to the stumps left for this purpose, 
whilst a man at the end hauled it round a tree, holding it 
on, and shifting it as they advanced. In this manner the 
canoe was warped up the steep ; and by two in the afternoon 
everything had been carried to the summit. Men were 
then despatched to cut the road onwards ; and the incessant 
labour of another day could only penetrate about three miles, 
whilst mountains much more elevated raised their snowy 
summits around in every direction. These, however, were 
at a distance; and another day's exertion brought them 
through a wood of tall pines to the banks of the river above 
the rapids. Before again embarking, Mackenzie left 



164 THE VOYAGE RESUMED. [1793. 

attached to a pole a knife, a steel, flint, beads, and other 
trifles, as a token of amity to the natives ; and one of his 
Indians added a small round stick of green wood, chewed 
at one end in the form of a brush, used to pick marrow out 
of bones — an instrument which he explained to be intended 
as an emblem to the people of a country abounding in 
animals.* 

They now resumed their voyage, enclosed on all sides 
by mountains whose summits were covered with snow, and 
one of which to the south rose to a majestic height. The 
air became chill ; the water, through which they frequently 
waded towing or pushing their bark, was intensely cold ; 
and on 31st May they reached a point minutely described 
to them before setting out by an old Indian warrior. Here 
the river separated into two streams, one running west- 
north-west, and the other south- south-east. The first of 
these they had been warned to avoid, as it soon lost itself 
in various smaller currents among the mountains ; and the 
steersman accordingly proceeded into the eastern branch, 
which, though not so broad as the other, was far more 
rapid. The course of their journey now led them through 
many populous beaver settlements. In some places these 
animals had cut down several acres of large poplars; and 
they saw multitudes busy from sunrise to sunset erecting 
houses, procuring food, superintending their dykes, and 
going diligently through all the labours of their little com- 
monwealth. Perceiving soon after a smoke in the forest 
which lined the banks, and hearing the sounds of human 
voices in great confusion, they became aware that they 
were near an Indian encampment, from which the inhabit- 
ants were retreating. Accordingly, on approaching the 
shore, two ferocious-looking men sprung from the woods, 

* Mackenzie, p. 181. 



1793.] DESPONDENCY. 165 

and took their station on a rising ground, brandishing their 
spears with loud vociferations. A few words of explana- 
tion from the interpreter, and some presents, pacified them, 
and Mackenzie made anxious inquiries regarding the 
nature of the country, and the great river which formed 
the object of his search. To his mortification, he found 
that they were unacquainted with any river to the west- 
ward; they had just arrived over a carrying- place of 
eleven days from another stream, which was nothing else 
than a large branch of the one the expedition was then 
navigating. Their iron, they said, was procured in ex- 
change for beaver and dress moose- skins from the people 
there, who travelled during a moon to the country of other 
tribes living in houses, and these in their turn extended 
their journeys to the ocean, or, to use their disparaging 
epithet, the Great Stinking Lake, where they traded with 
white people, who came in canoes as large as islands. 
Their knowledge of the country, however, appeared so 
vague, that all hope of procuring a guide was vain, and 
the heart of the traveller sunk within him as he felt that 
his favourite project was on the point of being utterly dis- 
concerted. 

Amidst this despondency, a faint hope remained that the 
natives, under the influence of suspicion, timidity, or from 
imperfectly understanding the interpreter, had not com- 
municated all they knew; and after a night sleepless from 
anxiety, the traveller rose with the sun to repeat his in- 
quiries. At first nothing satisfactory could be elicited; 
but suddenly Mackenzie, who stood beside the interpreters, 
understood, from the few words he knew of their language, 
that one person mentioned a great river, whilst he pointed 
significantly to that which lay before them. On a strict 
inquiry, the interpreter, who had been tired of the voyage, 
and of whose fidelity some suspicion was entertained, ac- 



166 MANNERS OF THE INDIANS. [1793. 

knowledged that the Indian spoke of a large river whose 
course was towards the mid-day sun, a branch of which 
flowed near the source of the stream they were now navi- 
gating. This branch, he added, it would not be difficult 
to reach, there being only three small lakes and as many 
carrying-places on the way to it; but he also insisted that 
the great river did not discharge itself into the sea* This 
last assertion was imputed to his ignorance of the country, 
whilst a rude map, which he delineated with a piece of coal 
on a strip of bark, convinced them that his information, so 
far as it went, was to be relied on. A new ray of hope 
now arose; and having induced an Indian to go forward 
as a guide to the borders of the small lakes, Mackenzie 
resumed his journey on 10th June, promising, if successful 
in his object, to revisit these friendly Indians in two 
moons. 

These people were of low stature and meagre frame, 
owing probably to the difficulty of procuring subsistence ; 
round faces, high cheek-bones, black hair hanging in elf- 
locks over their shoulders, and a swarthy yellow complexion, 
combined to give them a forbidding aspect ; whilst their 
garments of beaver, rein- deer, and ground-hog skins, 
dressed with the hair outside, having the tail of this last 
animal hanging down the back, might, when seen at a 
distance, occasion some doubt whether they belonged to the 
human race. Their women were extremely ugly, lustier 
and taller than the men, but much inferior in cleanliness. 
Their warlike weapons were cedar bows, six feet long, with 
a short iron spike at one end, so that they might also be 
used as spears. The arrows were barbed with iron, flint, 
stone, or bone, from two to two feet and a half long, and 
feathered with great neatness. They had two kinds of 

* Mackenzie, pp. 203, 204. 



1793.] CANOE WRECKED. 167 

spears, both double-edged, of well -polished iron, and with 
shafts from eight to six feet long. Their knives were of 
iron worked by themselves, and their axes resembled a 
carpenter's adze. They used snares of green skin, nets, 
and fishing-lines of willow-bark, hooks of small bones, and 
kettles of watape so closely woven as not to leak. Besides 
these they had various dishes of wood and bark, horn and 
wooden spoons and buckets, and leathern and net-work 
bags. Their canoes, of spruce-bark, calculated to hold 
from two to five persons, were propelled by paddles six feet 
long, with the blade shaped like a heart.* 

Pursuing their journey under the direction of the new 
guide, they reached a small lake in latitude 54° 24', which 
Mackenzie considered as the highest or southernmost source 
of the Ungigah, or Peace River. They passed two other 
lakes, and again entered the river, the navigation of which, 
from its rapidity and the trees and rocks in its channel, 
now became dangerous. The canoe struck on a sharp 
rock, which shattered the stern, and drove her to the other 
side, where the bow met the same fate. To complete the 
disaster, she passed at this moment over a cascade, which 
broke several holes in her bottom, and reduced her to a 
complete wreck, lying flat upon the water. All hands now 
lumped out, and clinging desperately to the sides, were 
hurried several hundred yards through a foaming torrent 
beset with sharp rocks, upon which they were every instant 
in danger of being dashed to pieces. Being carried, how- 
ever, into shallow water, where the canoe rested on the 
stones, they were relieved from their perilous situation by 
their companions on shore. 

After this escape, a consultation was held regarding their 
future proceedings. Benumbed with cold, and intimidated 

* Mackenzie's Travels, pp. 205, 206. 



168 MACKENZIE REACHES THE GREAT RIVER. [1793. 

by their recent dangers, the Indians proposed an immediate 
return ; but the remonstrances of their leader, enforced by 
the usual arguments of a hearty meal and an allowance of 
rum, banished their fears. It was next proposed to aban- 
don the wreck, to carry the baggage to the river, which 
the guide affirmed to be at no great distance, and there to 
construct a new vessel. But as it was suspected that this 
representation was not to be relied on, a party was de- 
spatched to reconnoitre, and brought back a very confused 
and unpromising account of the country. It was therefore 
determined to repair the canoe, and proceed as before. For 
this purpose bark was collected, which, with a few pieces 
of oil-cloth and plenty of gum, restored their shattered boat 
to something like a sea- worthy condition. Her frail state, 
however, rendered it necessary to carry part of the lading 
on men's shoulders along the banks ; and as a road had to 
be opened with hatchets, their progress was extremely slow. 

On 16th June, Mr. Mackay and two Indians were de- 
spatched with orders to penetrate if possible to the great 
river in the direction indicated by the guide. They suc- 
ceeded ; but returned with a discouraging account of the 
interminable woods and deep morasses which intervened. 
These gloomy prospects were increased by the desertion of 
their guide ; but nothing could repress Mackenzie's ardour. 
Cutting a passage through the woods, carrying the canoe 
round the rapids and cascades, they held on their slow and 
toilsome way, till at last, after passing a swamp, in many 
places wading to mid-thigh, they enjoyed the satisfaction 
of reaching the bank of the great river, which had been 
the object of so much anxious expectation and protracted 
hope.* 

Embarking anew, they were borne along by a strong 

* Mackenzie's Travels, p. 228. 



1793.] HOSTILITY OF THE NATIVES. ] 69 

current, which, slackening after a short time, allowed them 
to glide gently between banks of high white cliffs, sur- 
mounted with grotesque and singularly- shaped pinnacles. 
After some progress, the party were alarmed by a loud 
whoop from the thick woods ; at the same moment a canoe, 
guided by a single savage, shot out from the mouth of a 
small tributary stream, and a number of natives, armed 
with bows and arrows, appeared on an adjacent rising 
ground, uttering loud cries, and manifesting by their ges- 
tures that instant death would be inflicted on any one who 
landed. Every attempt to conciliate them proved unavail- 
ing; and a canoe was observed to steal swiftly down the 
river, with the evident design of communicating the alarm 
and procuring assistance. At this critical moment the 
courage and prudence of Mackenzie providentially saved 
his party. He landed alone, with two pistols stuck in his 
belt ; having first, however, given orders to one of his 
Indians to steal into the woods with a couple of guns, and 
to keep near him in case of attack. " I had not been long/' 
says he, " in my station on the bank, with my Indian in 
ambush behind me, when two of the natives came off in a 
canoe, but stopped when they got within a hundred yards 
of me. I made signs for them to land, and as an induce- 
ment displayed looking-glasses, beads, and other alluring 
trinkets. At length, but with every mark of extreme 
apprehension, they approached the shore, taking care to 
turn their canoe stern foremost, and still not venturing to 
land. I now made them a present of some beads, with 
which they were going to push off, when I renewed my 
entreaties, and after some time prevailed on them to come 
ashore and sit down by me. My Indian hunter now 
thought it right to join me, and created some alarm in my 
new acquaintance. It was, however, soon removed, and 
I had the satisfaction to find that he and these people 



170 THEY ARE CONCILIATED BY MACKENZIE. [1793. 

perfectly understood each other. I instructed him to say 
everything to them which might tend to soothe their fears 
and win their confidence. I expressed my wish to con- 
duct them to our canoe ; but they declined this offer ; and 
when they observed some of my people coming towards us, 
they requested me to let them return, and I was so well 
satisfied with the progress which I had made in my inter- 
course with them, that I did not hesitate a moment in com- 
plying with their desire. During their short stay, they 
observed us, and everything about us, with a mixture of 
admiration and astonishment. We could plainly perceive 
that their friends received them with great joy on their 
return, and that the articles which they carried back with 
them were examined with a general and eager curiosity. 
They also appeared to hold a consultation which lasted 
about a quarter of an hour, and the result was an invita- 
tion to come over to them, which we cheerfully accepted. 
Nevertheless, on our landing they betrayed evident signs 
of confusion, which arose probably from the quickness of 
our movements, as the prospect of a friendly communica- 
tion had so cheered the spirits of the people that they 
paddled across the river with the utmost expedition. The 
two men who had been with us appeared very naturally to 
possess the greatest share of courage on the occasion, and 
were ready to receive us on our landing ; but our demean- 
our soon dispelled their apprehensions, and the most fami- 
liar communication took place between us. When I had 
secured their confidence by the distribution of trinkets 
among them, and had treated the children with sugar, I 
instructed my interpreters to collect every necessary infor- 
mation in their power to afford me."* 

The intelligence procured from this tribe was discourag- 

* Mackenzie's Travels, pp. 244, 245. 



1793.] AMERICAN COSMOGRAPHY. 171 

ing. They stated, indeed, that the river ran towards the 
raid-day sun, and that at its mouth white people were 
building houses; but that the navigation was dangerous, 
and in three places absolutely impassable, owing to the 
falls and rapids. The nations through whose territories 
the route lay, they represented as ferocious and malignant, 
especially their immediate neighbours, who dwelt in sub- 
terranean houses. Unappalled by this description, Mac- 
kenzie re-embarked, and he was accompanied by a small 
canoe, with two persons who consented to act as guides. 
Coming to a place where some savage-looking people were 
seen on a high ground, it was thought expedient to land, 
and an amicable interview took place, which led to im- 
portant consequences. On explaining the object of the 
journey, one of the natives, of superior rank and intelligence, 
drew a sketch of the country on a piece of bark, appealing 
during his labour to his companions, and accompanying 
the rude but perfectly intelligible map by details as to their 
future voyage. He described the river as running to the 
east of south, receiving in its course many tributary streams, 
and broken every six or eight leagues by dangerous falls 
and rapids, six of which were altogether impracticable. 
The carrying- places he represented as of great length 
across mountains. He depicted the lands of three tribes 
in succession, who spoke different languages; and con- 
cluded by saying that beyond them he knew nothing ot 
the country, except that it was still a great way to the sea, 
and that there was a lake of which the natives did not 
drink.* 

Whilst the route by water was thus said to be imprac- 
ticable, they asserted that the road across the country to 
the ocean was short in comparison, and lay along a valley 

* Mackenzie's Travels, p. 253. 



172 OVERLAND JOURNEY. [1793. 

free from wood, and frequently travelled. Other consi- 
derations combined to recommend this latter course to 
Mackenzie : — Only thirty days' provisions were left, and 
the supply procured by hunting was very precarious. The 
ammunition was nearly spent; and if the prosecution of 
the voyage appeared perilous, a return would have been 
equally so. Under these circumstances, it was resolved 
to abandon the canoe, and to penetrate overland to the 
Western Ocean. 

To arrive at the spot where they were to strike off across 
the country, it was necessary to return a considerable way 
up the river — a service of great danger, owing to the shat- 
tered condition of the boat and the hostile dispositions of 
the natives, who were apt to change in an instant from the 
greatest friendliness to unmitigated rage and suspicion. 
The guides deserted them, and it became absolutely neces- 
sary to build a new canoe. She proved better than the old 
one, and they at last reached the point whence they were 
to start overland. " We carried on our back," says Mac- 
kenzie, " four bags and a half of pemmican, weighing 
from eighty-five to ninety-five pounds each, a case with 
the instruments, a parcel of goods for presents, weighing 
ninety pounds, and a parcel containing ammunition of the 
same weight; each of the Canadians had a burden of 
about ninety pounds, with a gun and ammunition, whilst 
the Indians had about forty -five pounds' weight of pem- 
mican, besides their gun — an obligation with which, owing 
to their having been treated with too much indulgence, they 
expressed themselves much dissatisfied. My own load and 
that of Mr. Mackay consisted of twenty-two pounds of 
pemmican, some rice, sugar, and other small articles, 
amounting to about seventy pounds, besides our arms and 
ammunition. The tube of my telescope was also slung 
across my shoulder; and owing to the low state of our 



1793.] FRIENDLY INDIANS. 173 

provisions, it was determined that we should content our- 
selves with two meals a-day."* 

Thus laden, they struck into the woods, and travelling 
along a tolerably beaten path, arrived before night at some 
Indian tents, where they were joined by an elderly man 
and three other natives. The old man held in his hand a 
spear of European manufacture, like a Serjeant's halberd, 
which he stated he had lately received from some people on 
the sea-coast, to whom it had been given by white men. 
He added, that those heavily laden did not take more than 
six days to reach the tribes with whom he and his friends 
bartered their furs and skins for iron, and that thence it 
was scarcely two days' march to the sea. He recommended 
also that, whilst they retired to sleep, two young Indians 
should be sent forward to warn the different tribes whose 
territories they were approaching — a precaution which had 
the best effects. Another pleasing distinction between 
their present hosts and the other savages whom they had 
passed soon presented itself. When the weary travellers 
lay down to rest, the Indians took their station at a little 
distance, and began a song in a sweet plaintive tone, un- 
accompanied by any instrument, but with a modulation 
exceedingly pleasing and solemn, not unlike that of church 
music. The circumstance may remind the reader of the 
descriptions of American music given by Mr. Meares and 
Captain Burney, whom it strikingly corroborates. 

Having procured two guides, they now proceeded through 
an open country sprinkled with cypresses, and joined a 
family of the natives. The father, on hearing their inten- 
tion of penetrating to the ocean, pointed to one of his wives 
who was a native of the sea-coast ; her appearance differed 
from the females they had hitherto seen. She was of low 

* Mackenzie's Travels, p. 285. 



174 THE GUIDES DESERT. [1793 

stature, inclined to corpulency, with an oblong face, gray 
eyes, and a flattish nose. Her garments consisted of a 
tunic covered with a robe of matted bark, fringed round 
the bottom with the beautiful fur of the sea-otter. She 
wore bracelets of brass, copper, and horn, whilst her hair 
was braided with large blue beads, and her ears and neck 
adorned with the same. With these people age seemed to 
be an object of great veneration : they tiamed an old woman 
by turns upon their backs, who was quite blind and infirm. 
The country appeared well peopled, and the natives, though 
at first alarmed, were soon conciliated by the guides. In 
some places they observed chains of small lakes, the val- 
leys were verdant and watered with pleasant rivulets, and 
the scenery varied by groves of cypress and poplar, in 
which they were surprised to see no animals. The inha- 
bitants indeed seemed to live exclusively on fish ; and the 
people of one small settlement containing thirteen families 
were denominated, in the language of the country, Sloa- 
cuss-Dinais or Red Fish Men. They were healthy looking, 
and more provident, cleanly, and comfortable, than the 
neighbouring tribes. 

One of Mackenzie's greatest and most frequent perplexi- 
ties arose out of the sudden fits of caprice and change of 
purpose which characterize most savages, but none more 
than the Americans. An example of this now occurred. 
The guides, upon whose fidelity the success of the expedi- 
tion mainly depended, were advancing apparently in the 
most contented and friendly manner, when, in a moment, 
without uttering a word, they sprang forward, and dis- 
appeared in the woods, leaving the party, who were utterly 
unacquainted with the route, in a state bordering on de- 
spair.* Pushing forward, however, at a hazard, they per- 

* Mackenzie's Travels, p. 302. 



1793.] TERROR OF THE NATIVES. 175 

eeived a house situated on a green spot by the edge of a 
wood, the smoke of which curled above the trees, intimat- 
ing that it was inhabited. Mackenzie advanced alone, as 
his party were too much alarmed to second his intrepidity ; 
and so intent were the inhabitants upon their household 
labours, that he approached unperceived. Nothing could 
exceed the terror and confusion occasioned by his sudden 
appearance. The women and children uttered piercing 
shrieks, and the only man about the place sprung out of a 
back-door with the rapidity of a wild-cat, and fled into the 
woods. Their dismay arose from the belief that they were 
surprised by enemies, and would be instantly put to death — 
an atrocity too common among the Indian tribes. The con- 
duct of the man who had fled was amusing. By degrees 
he crept sufficiently near to watch the party ; and on ob- 
serving the kindness with which the women and children 
were treated, came cautiously within speaking distance. 
His eyes were still staring in his head. No assurances of 
the interpreters or the women could persuade him to return ; 
no beads, knives, or presents of any kind, had the effect of 
restoring his confidence. On being approached, he kept 
dodging about behind large trees, brandishing his bow and 
arrows, grinning hideously, and displaying a variety of 
strange antics, till at last, in one of his paroxysms, he dived 
into a thicket and disappeared. As suddenly he emerged 
in an opposite quarter, and becoming pacified, after a suc- 
cession of parleys, agreed to accompany them as a guide. 

On advancing from this station they travelled over an 
elevated tract, and at length gained the summit <pf a hill, 
affording a view of a range of mountains covered with 
snow, which, according to the guide, terminated in the 
ocean. Passing along the borders of several small lakes, 
through a swampy country, they arrived at a lodge of 
natives, who received them with hospitality, and minutely 



176 BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. [1793. 

scrutinized their appearance. The hair of the women was 
tied in large loose knots over the ears, and plaited with 
great neatness from the division of the head, so as to be 
included in the knots. Some had their tresses adorned 
with beads, producing a very graceful effect ; whilst the 
men were clothed in leather, their hair nicely combed, their 
complexion fair, and their skin cleanly. One young man 
was at least six feet four inches in height, with a prepos- 
sessing countenance, and affable and dignified manners. All, 
not excepting the children, carried a burden proportioned 
to their strength, consisting of beaver-coating and parch- 
ment, skins of the otter, marten, bear, and lynx, besides 
dressed moose- skins. These last they procured from the 
Rocky Mountain Indians ; and for the purposes of trade 
the people of the sea- coast preferred them to any others. 

They now continued their journey through a beautiful 
valley, watered by a gentle rivulet, to a range of hills 
which they ascended till surrounded by snow so firm and 
compact that it crunched under their feet. Before them 
lay a stupendous mountain, whose summit, clad with the 
same spotless coronet, was partly lost in the clouds. Be- 
tween it and the route they were to follow flowed a broad 
river; and descending from their present elevated ground, 
they plunged into woods of lofty and umbrageous cedars 
and alder trees.* As they got lower into these primeval 
forests, they were sensible of an entire change of climate. 
The guides pointed out to them, through the openings in 
the dark foliage, the river which flowed in the distance, and 
a village on its banks, whilst beneath their feet the ground 
was covered with berries of an excellent flavour, and com- 
pletely ripe. The effect of sunset upon this noble scenery 
was strikingly beautiful; but their admiration was inter- 

* Mackenzie's Travels, pp. 316, 317. 



1793.] VILLAGE IN THE FOREST. 177 

rupted by the decampment of their guides, who, as the 
shades of evening began to fall, pushed forward at such a 
pace that the party were soon left without conductors, in 
darkness and uncertainty. The men, who were much 
fatigued, now proposed to take up their quarters for the 
night; but their indefatigable leader groped his way for- 
ward, and at length, arriving at the edge of the wood, per- 
ceived the light of several fires. On coming up, he entered 
a hut where the people were employed in cooking fish, 
threw down his burden, and shook hands with the inmates, 
who did not show any surprise, but gave him to understand 
by signs that he should go to a large house, erected on 
upright posts at some distance from the ground. A broad 
piece of timber, with steps cut in it, led to a scaffolding on 
a level with the floor; and ascending these, the traveller 
entered the apartment, passed three fires at equal distances 
in the middle of the room, and was cordially received by 
several people seated on a wide board at the upper end. 
Mackenzie took his place beside one whom, from his dig- 
nified look, he took to be the chief. Soon after the rest of 
the party arrived, and placed themselves near him; upon 
which the chief arose and brought a quantity of roasted 
salmon. Mats were then spread, and the fish placed be- 
fore them. When the meal was concluded, their host 
made signs which they supposed to convey a desire that 
they should sleep under the same roof with himself; but 
as his meaning was not sufficiently plain, they prepared 
to bivouac without. Everything was done to render their 
repose agreeable : — A fire was kindled, boards placed that 
they might not sleep on the bare ground, and two delicate 
dishes of salmon-roes, beat up to the consistency of thick 
cream, and mixed with gooseberries and wood- sorrel, were 
brought for supper. On awaking in the morning, they 
found all their wants anticipated in the same hospitable 
M 



178 SALMON FISHERY. [1793. 

manner: a fire was already blazing, a plentiful breakfast 
of roasted salmon and dried roes was provided, and a 
regale of raspberries, whortleberries, and gooseberries, 
finished the meal.* 

Salmon was so abundant in this river that the people 
had a constant supply. They had formed across the stream 
an embankment for placing fishing-machines, which were 
disposed both above and below it. For some reason, how- 
ever, they would permit no near inspection of the weir ; 
but it appeared to be four feet above the water, and was 
constructed of alternate layers of gravel and small trees, 
fixed in a slanting position. Beneath it were placed 
machines into which the salmon fell in attempting to leap 
over ; and on either side was a large timber frame six feet 
above the water, in which passages were left leading 
directly into the machines, whilst at the foot of the fall 
dipping-nets were successfully employed. These people 
were observed to indulge an extreme superstition regard- 
ing their fish, refusing to taste flesh, and appearing to con- 
sider such an act as a pollution. One of their dogs having 
swallowed a bone which the travellers left, was beaten by 
his master till he disgorged it; and a bone of a deer being 
thrown into the river, a native dived, brought it up, con- 
signed it to the fire, and carefully washed his hands. They 
would not lend their canoes for the use of the party, having 
observed some venison which they concluded was to be 
stowed on board; and they alleged that the fish would 
immediately smell it and leave them. Although generous 
in furnishing the strangers with as much roasted fish as 
they could consume, they would part with none in a raw 
state: — They believed salmon to have an invincible anti- 
pathy to iron, and were afraid that, if given raw to the 

* Mackenzie's Travels, p. 318-320. 



1793.] INDIAN MECHANICAL ARTS. 179 

white men, they might take serious offence at being boiled 
in a vessel of this ominous metal. In other respects no- 
thing could exceed their friendliness ; and at a neighbour- 
ing village belonging to the same tribe, the reception of 
Mackenzie was if possible still more kind. The son of the 
chief took from his own shoulders a beautiful robe of sea- 
otter skin, and threw it over the traveller, whilst the father 
expressed the utmost satisfaction in being presented with 
a pair of scissors to clip his beard — a purpose to which, 
with the eager delight of a child, he instantly applied them. 
The houses in this village were constructed in the same 
way as those already described, and remind us of the lively 
account given by Mr. Meares. At a little distance, Mac- 
kenzie observed some singular wooden buildings, which 
he conjectured to be temples. They consisted of oblong 
squares, about twenty feet high by eight broad, formed of 
thick cedar-planks beautifully joined. Upon these were 
painted hieroglyphics and figures of various animals, with 
a remarkable degree of correctness. In the midst of the 
village was a large building, at first supposed to be the 
unfinished frame-work of a house. Its dimensions, how- 
ever, were far greater than those of an ordinary dwelling, 
the ground-plot being fifty feet by forty -five, each end 
formed by four stout posts fixed perpendicularly in the 
earth. The corner posts were unornamented, and sup- 
ported a beam of the whole length, having three inter- 
mediate props on each side. Two centre posts at each end, 
about two feet and a half in diameter, were carved into^ 
colossal human figures, supporting ridge-poles on theiir 
heads ; the hands were placed on the knees, as if they felt 
difficulty in sustaining the weight, whilst the figures op- 
posite to them stood in an easy attitude, with their hands 
resting on their hips. The posts, poles, and figures were 
painted red and black, and the carving was executed with 



180 , MACKENZIE KEACHES THE SEA. [1793. 

a truth and boldness which bespoke no little advancement 
in sculpture.* In the mechanical arts they had arrived at 
considerable perfection. The chief's canoe was of cedar, 
forty-five feet long, four wide, and three feet and a half 
deep. It was painted black, and ornamented with draw- 
ings of various kinds of fish in white upon the dark ground, 
and the gunwale, both fore and aft, was neatly inlaid with 
the teeth of the sea-otter. In this vessel, according to the 
old chiefs account, he undertook, about ten winters before, 
a voyage towards the mid-day sun, having with him forty 
of his subjects ; on which occasion he met with two large 
vessels full of white men, the first he had seen, by whom 
he was kindly received. Mackenzie very plausibly con- 
jectured that these might be the ships of Captain Cook. 

It was now the 1 8th of July, and, surrounded by friendly 
natives, with plenty of provisions, pleasant weather, and 
the anticipation of speedily reaching the great object of 
their wishes, they resumed their voyage in a large canoe, 
accompanied by four of the Indians. The navigation of 
the river, as they approached the ocean, was interrupted 
by rapids and cascades; but their skill in surmounting 
these impediments was now considerable, and on the 20th, 
after a passage of thirty-six miles, they arrived at the 
mouth of the river, which discharges itself by various 
smaller channels into an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The 
purpose of the expedition was now completed, and its in- 
defatigable leader painted in large characters, upon the 
face of the rock under whose shelter they had slept, this 
simple memorial: — "Alexander Mackenzie from Canada 
by land, the twenty-second of July, one thousand seven 
hundred and ninety- three." The inscription was only 
written in vermilion, and has probably long ago been 

* Mackenzie's Travels, p. 331. 



1820.] franklin's first journey. 181 

washed away by the fury of the elements ; but the name 
of Mackenzie is enduringly consecrated in the annals of 
discovery, as the first person who penetrated from sea to 
sea across the immense continent of North America. His 
return by the same route it is unnecessary to pursue. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Discoveries along the Shores of the Arctic Ocean. 

First and Second Expeditions of Franklin — Voyage of Captain 
Beechey. 

The discoveries of Hearne and Mackenzie established the 
great fact that there is a northern coast in America, washed 
by the Arctic Ocean, which forms, in all probability, its 
continuous boundary; and they demonstrated the practica- 
bility of reaching this limit by passing over the vast plains 
which stretch northward from Canada and Hudson's Bay. 
The voyages of Captain Parry, also, which have been 
already detailed,* fully corroborated this opinion; and it 
appeared evident that another expedition, properly con- 
ducted, might reach this shore, and more fully examine its 
whole extent. Such an expedition, accordingly, sailed from 
England on the 23d of May 1820, its command being 
entrusted to Lieutenant, now Sir John Franklin, assisted 
by Dr. Richardson, an able mineralogist and natural his- 
torian. During the first portion of their journey, they 
followed the chain of the great lakes, instead of the more 
eastern track pursued by Hearne; and having descended 
the Coppermine River, arrived, on 21st July, at the shore 
of the Arctic Ocean, where they commenced their career of 

* Polar Seas and Regions, 3d edit. p. 263—323. 



182 VOYAGE ALONG THE ARCTIC SHORES. [1820. 

discovery. Important as were the particulars of their sur- 
vey, when considered in relation to the furtherance of 
geographical science, a minute detail is here unnecessary, 
and we shall attempt only a general sketch. 

Paddling along the coast to the eastward, on the inside 
of a crowded range of islands, they encamped on shore after 
a run of thirty- seven miles, in which they experienced little 
interruption, and saw only a small iceberg in the distance, 
though that beautiful luminous effulgence emitted from the 
congregated ices, and distinguished by the name of the 
ice-blink, was distinctly visible to the northward. The 
coast was found of moderate height, easy of access, and 
covered with vegetation; but the islands were rocky and 
barren, presenting high cliffs of a columnar structure. In 
continuing their voyage, the dangers which beset a navi- 
gator in these dreadful polar solitudes thickened gloomily 
around them. The coast became broken and sterile, and 
at length rose into a high and rugged promontory, against 
which some large masses of ice had drifted, threatening 
destruction to their slender canoes. In attempting to round 
this cape the wind rose, an awful gloom involved the sky, 
and the thunder burst over their heads, compelling them to 
encamp till the storm subsided. They then, at the immi- 
nent risk of having the canoes crushed by the floating ice, 
doubled the dreary promontory, which they denominated 
Cape Barrow, and entered Detention Harbour, where they 
landed. Around them the land consisted of mountains of 
granite, rising abruptly from the water's edge, destitute 
of vegetation, and attaining an elevation of fourteen or 
fifteen hundred feet; seals and small deer were the only 
animals seen, and the former were so shy that all attempts 
to approach within shot were unsuccessful. With the 
deer the hunters were more fortunate, but these were 
not numerous ; and whilst the ice closed gradually around 



1820.] CAPE KATER AND BANKES* PENINSULA. 183 

them, and their little stock of provisions, consisting of 
pemmican and cured beef, every day diminished, it was 
impossible not to regard their situation with uneasiness. 
Rounding Cape Kater, they entered Arctic Sound, and sent 
a party to explore a river upon the banks of which they 
expected to find an Esquimaux encampment. All, how- 
ever, was silent, desolate, and deserted; even these hardy 
natives, bred amidst the polar ices, had removed from so 
barren a spot, and the hunters returned with two small 
deer and a brown bear, the latter animal so lean and sickly 
looking, that the men declined eating it; but the officers 
boiled its paws, and found them excellent. 

Proceeding along the eastern shore of Arctic Sound, to 
which they gave the name of Bankes' Peninsula, the 
expedition made its painful way along a coast indented by 
bays, and in many places studded with islands, till, on 10th 
August, they reached the open sea; and sailing, as they 
imagined, between the continent and a large island, found 
to their deep disappointment that, instead of an open chan- 
nel, they were in the centre of a vast bay. The state of 
the expedition now called for the most serious consideration 
upon the part of their commander. So much time had 
already been spent in exploring the sounds and inlets, that 
all hope of reaching Repulse Bay was vain; both canoes 
had sustained material injury; the fuel was expended; their 
provisions were sufficient only for three days ; the appear- 
ances of the setting in of the arctic winter were too unequi- 
vocal to be mistaken; the deer, which had hitherto supplied 
them with fresh meat, would, it was well known, soon 
disappear ; the geese and other aquatic birds were already 
seen winging their way to the southward ; while the men, 
who had up to this moment displayed the utmost courage, 
began to look disheartened, and to entertain serious appre- 
hensions for their safety. Under these circumstances, 



184 LAND JOURNEY. [1820. 

Franklin, with the concurrence of his officers, determined 
not to endanger the lives of his people by a farther advance; 
and after spending four days in a minute survey of the 
bay, it was resolved to return by Hood's River to Fort 
Enterprise. Franklin's researches, as far as prosecuted at 
this time, favoured the opinion of those who contended for 
the practicability of a north-west passage. It appeared 
probable that the coast ran east and west in the latitude 
assigned to Mackenzie's River, and little doubt could, in 
his opinion, be entertained regarding the existence of a 
continued sea in that direction. The portion over which 
they passed was navigable for vessels of any size ; and the 
ice met with after quitting Detention Harbour would not 
have arrested a strong boat, whilst the chain of islands 
afforded shelter from all heavy seas, and there were 
good harbours at convenient distances. Having, with 
much severe privation, completed their course, from 
Point Turnagain in Melville Bay to the entrance of 
Hood's River, they ascended as high as the first rapid, and 
encamped, terminating here their voyage on the Arctic 
Sea, during which they had gone over six hundred and 
fifty geographical miles. 

On the prospect of commencing their land journey, the 
Canadians could not conceal their satisfaction; and the 
evening previous to their departure was passed in talking 
over their past adventures, and congratulating each other 
in having at length turned their backs upon the sea, little 
anticipating that the most painful and hazardous portion 
of the expedition was yet to come. Before setting off, an 
assortment of iron materials, beads, looking-glasses, and 
other articles, was put up in a conspicuous situation for the 
Esquimaux, and the English union was planted on the 
loftiest sand-hill, where it might be seen by any ships 
passing in the offing. Here also was deposited in a tin box, 



1820.] EXTREME COLD. 185 

a letter containing an outline of the proceedings of the 
expedition, the latitude and longitude of the principal places, 
and the course intended to be pursued towards Slave Lake. 
They now proceeded up the river in their canoes, and though 
upon a short allowance of provisions, the produce of their 
nets and fowling-pieces furnished for a few days enough to 
ward off absolute want; but they were often on the very 
brink of it. Their progress was much interrupted by shoals 
and rapids, and one evening they encamped at the lower 
end of a narrow chasm, the walls of which were upwards of 
two hundred feet high, and in some places only a few yards 
apart. Into this the river precipitates itself, forming two 
magnificent cascades, to which they gave the name of 
Wilberforce Falls. On taking a survey of its farther 
course from a neighbouring hill, it was discovered to be so 
rapid and shallow, that all progress in the large canoes 
seemed impossible. Two smaller boats were therefore 
constructed; and on 1st September they set off, with the 
intention of proceeding in as direct a line as possible to the 
part of Point Lake opposite their spring encampment — a 
distance which appeared comparatively trifling, being only 
one hundred and forty-nine miles. Their luggage consisted 
of ammunition, nets, hatches, ice-chisels, astronomical in- 
struments, clothing-blankets, three kettles, and the two 
canoes, each so light as to be carried easily by a single 
man. But disaster attacked them in their very first stage. 
A storm of snow came on, accompanied by a high wind, 
against which it was difficult to carry the canoes, that were 
damaged by the falls of those who bore them. The ground 
was covered by small stones, and much pain was endured 
by the carriers, whose soft moose-skin shoes were soon cut 
through. The cold was intense ; and on encamping they 
looked in vain for wood ; a fire of moss was all they could 
procure, which served them to cook their supper, but gave 



186 FAILURE OF PROVISIONS. [1820. 

so little heat that they were glad to creep under their 
blankets.* 

Having ascended next morning one of the highest hills, 
they ascertained that the river took a westerly course, and 
Franklin, thinking that to follow it farther would lead to a 
more tedious journey than their exhausted strength could 
endure, determined to quit its banks and make directly for 
Point Lake. Emerging, therefore, from the valley, they 
crossed a barren country, varied only by marshy levels and 
small lakes. The weather was fine, but unfortunately no 
berry-bearing plants were found, the surface being covered 
in the more humid spots with a few grasses, and in other 
places with some gray melancholy lichens. On encamping, 
the last piece of pemmican, or pounded flesh, was distri- 
buted, with a little arrow-root, for supper. The evening 
was warm ; but dark clouds overspread the sky, and they 
experienced those sudden alternations of climate which 
occur in the polar latitudes at this season. At midnight 
it rained in torrents ; but towards morning a snow-storm 
arose, accompanied by a violent gale. During the whole 
day the storm continued, and not having the comfort of a 
fire the men remained in bed, but the tents were frozen ; 
around them the snow had drifted to the depth of three 
feet, and even within lay several inches thick on their 
blankets. Though the storm had not abated, any longer 
delay was impossible, for they knew every hour would 
increase the intensity of an arctic winter ; and though faint 
from fasting, and with their clothes stiffened by frost, it 
was absolutely necessary to push forward. They suffered 
much in packing the frozen tents and bedclothes, and could 
hardly keep their hands out of their fur mittens. On 
attempting to move, Franklin was seized with a fainting 

* Franklin's Journey, p. 399. 






1820.] cracroft's river. 187 

fit, occasioned by hunger and exhaustion, and on recovering 
refused to eat a morsel of portable soup, which was imme- 
diately prepared for him, as it had to be drawn from the 
only remaining meal of the party. The people, however, 
kindly crowded round, and overcame his reluctance. The 
effect of eating was his rapid recovery ; and the expedition 
moved on. 

Disaster now crowded on disaster. The wind rose so 
high, that those who carried the canoes were frequently 
blown down, and one of the boats was so much shattered 
as to be rendered unserviceable. The ground was covered 
with snow ; and though the swamps were frozen, yet the 
ice was often not sufficiently strong ; so that they plunged 
in knee- deep. A fire, however, was made of the bark and 
timbers of the broken canoe ; and, after having fasted three 
days, their last meal of portable soup and arrow- root was 
cooked. Each man's allowance at this melancholy dinner 
was exceedingly scanty ; but it allayed the pangs of hunger, 
and encouraged them to press forward at a quicker rate. 
They had now reached a more hilly country, strewed with 
large stones, and covered with gray lichen, well known to 
the Canadians by its name tripe de roche. In cases 1 of 
extremity, it is boiled and eaten ; but its taste is nauseous, 
its quality purgative, and it sometimes produces an intoler- 
able griping and loathing. The party not being aware of 
this, gathered a considerable quantity. A few partridges 
also had been shot ; and at night some willows were dug 
up from under the snow, with which they lighted a fire and 
cooked their supper. 

Next day they came to Cracroft's River, flowing to the 
westward over a channel of large stones, that rendered it 
impossible to cross in the canoe. No alternative was left 
but to attempt a precarious passage over some rocks at a 
rapid j and in effecting this, some of the men, losing their 



188 CONGECATHAWHACHAGA. [1820. 

balance, slipt into the water. They were instantly rescued 
by their companions; but so intense was the frost, that 
their drenched clothes became caked with ice, and they 
suffered much during the remainder of the day's march. 
The hunters had fallen in with some partridges, which they 
shot, and they found enough of roots to make a fire; so 
that their supper, though scanty, was comparatively com- 
fortable. Next morning they pushed forward with ardour, 
and passed the River Congecathawhachaga of Mr Hearne. 
The country which lay before them was hilly, and covered 
with snow to a great depth. The sides of the hills were 
traversed by sharp angular rocks, where the drifted snow, 
filling up the interstices, presented a smooth but fallacious 
surface, which often gave way and precipitated them into 
the chasms with their heavy loads. In this painful and 
arduous manner they struggled forward several days, feed- 
ing on the tripe de roche, which was so frozen to the rocks, 
that their hands were benumbed before a meal could be 
collected, and so destitute of nutritive juices, that it allayed 
hunger only for a very short time. At length reaching the 
summit of a hill, they, to their great delight, beheld a herd 
of musk-oxen feeding in the valley below ; an instant halt 
was made, the best hunters were called out, and whilst they 
proceeded with extreme caution in a circuitous route, their 
companions watched their proceedings with intense anxiety. 
"When near enough to open their fire, the report reverbe- 
rated through the hills, and one of the largest cows was 
seen to fall. " This success," says Franklin, in that simple 
and beautiful account of his journey which any change of 
language would only weaken, " infused spirit into our starv- 
ing party. The contents of its stomach were devoured upon 
the spot ; and the raw intestines, which were next attacked, 
were pronounced by the most delicate of the party to be 
excellent. A few willows, whose tops were seen peeping 



1820.] PROVIDENTIAL SUPPLY. 189 

through the snow in the bottom of the valley, were quickly- 
grubbed, the tents pitched, and supper cooked and devoured 
with avidity. It was the sixth day since we had had a good 
meal. I do not think that we witnessed, through the course 
of our journey, a more striking proof of the wise dispensa- 
tion of the Almighty, and of the weakness of our own judg- 
ment, than on this day. We had considered the dense fog 
which prevailed throughout the morning as almost the 
greatest inconvenience which could have befallen us, since 
it rendered the air extremely cold, and prevented us from 
distinguishing any distant object towards which our course 
could be directed. Yet this very darkness enabled the 
party to get to the top of the hill, which bounded the valley 
wherein the musk-oxen were grazing, without being per- 
ceived. Had the herd discovered us and taken alarm, our 
hunters, in their present state of debility, would in all pro- 
bability have failed in approaching them." * 

On the following day a strong southerly wind blowing 
with a snow-drift, they took a day's rest, and as only enough 
remained of the musk-ox to serve for two days, they con- 
tented themselves with a single meal. Next morning, 
though the gale had not diminished, they pushed forward, 
and notwithstanding their rest and recent supply of animal 
food, the whole party felt greater weakness than they had 
hitherto experienced. The weather was hazy, but after an 
hour's march the sky cleared, and they found themselves 
on the borders of a lake, of which they could not discern 
the termination in either direction. In these circumstances 
they travelled along its banks to the westward, in search 
of a crossing -place. Credit, one of the Canadians, left the 
party in hopes of falling in with deer, but did not return ; 
and on encamping in the evening, hungry and fatigued, 

* Franklin's Journey, vol. iv. p. 13, small edition of 1829. 



190 SUFFERINGS FROM FAMINE. [1820. 

they had to divide for supper a single partridge and some 
tripe de roche. This weed from the first had been unpala- 
table, but now became insupportably nauseous, and began 
in many to produce severe pains and bowel-complaints, 
especially in Mr. Hood, one of the young officers attached 
to the expedition. This solitary partridge was the last 
morsel of animal food that remained; and they turned 
with deep anxiety to the hope of catching some fish in the 
lake, but discovered that the persons intrusted with them 
had improvidently thrown away three of the nets and 
burnt the floats on leaving Hood's River. Things now 
began to look very gloomy ; and as the men were daily 
getting weaker, it was judged expedient to lighten their 
burdens of everything except ammunition, clothing, and 
the instruments necessary to guide them on their way. 
The dipping-needle, the azimuth compass, the magnet, a 
large thermometer, and the few books they carried, were 
therefore deposited at this encampment, after they had torn 
out from these last the tables necessary for working the 
latitude and longitude. Rewards also were promised by 
Franklin to such of the party as should kill any animals, 
and in the morning they prepared to go forward. 

At this moment a fine trait of disinterestedness occurred : 
As the officers assembled round a small fire, enduring an 
intense degree of hunger which they had no means of satis- 
fying, Perrault, one of the Canadians, presented each of 
them with a piece of meat out of a little store which he had 
saved from his allowance. " It was received," says Frank- 
lin, " with great thankfulness, and such an instance of self- 
denial and kindness filled our eyes with tears." Pressing 
forward to a river issuing from the lake, they met their 
comrade, Credit, and received the joyful intelligence that 
he had killed two deer. One of these was immediately cut 
up and prepared for breakfast; and having sent some of 



1820.] CANOE SWAMPED. 191 

the party for the other, the rest proceeded down the river, 
which was about three hundred yards broad, in search of a 
place to cross. Having chosen a spot where the current 
was smooth, immediately above a rapid, Franklin and two 
Canadian boatmen, St. Germain and Belanger, pushed from 
the shore. The breeze was fresh, and the current stronger 
than they imagined, so that they approached the very edge 
of the rapid ; and Belanger employing his paddle to steady 
the canoe, lost his balance, and overset the bark in the 
middle of it. The party clung to its side, and reaching a 
rock where the stream was but waist-deep, kept their footing 
till the canoe was emptied of water, after which Belanger 
held it steady, while St. Germain replaced Franklin in it, 
and dexterously leaped in himself. Such was their situa- 
tion, that if the man who stood on the rock had raised his 
foot, they would have been lost. His friends therefore were 
compelled to leave him, and after a second disaster, in which 
the canoe struck, and was as expeditiously righted as before, 
they reached the opposite bank. Meanwhile Belanger 
suffered extremely, immersed to his middle, and enduring 
intense cold. He called piteously for relief, and St. Ger- 
main re- embarking, attempted to reach him, but was hurried 
down the rapid, and on coming ashore was so benumbed as 
to be incapable of farther exertion. A second effort, but 
equally unsuccessful, was made by Adam : they then tried 
to carry out a line formed of the slings of the men's loads, 
but it broke, and was carried down the stream. At last, 
when he was almost exhausted, the canoe reached him with 
a small cord of one of the remaining nets, and he was dragged 
to shore quite insensible. On being stripped, rolled in 
blankets, and put to bed between two men, he recovered. 
During these operations Franklin was left alone upon the 
bank, and it seemed a matter of the utmost doubt whether 
he should be ever rejoined by his companions. " It is im- 



192 DESOLATE SITUATION. [1820. 

possible," says he, " to describe my sensations as I witnessed 
the various unsuccessful attempts to relieve Belanger. The 
distance prevented my seeing distinctly what was going 
on, and I continued pacing up and down the rock on which 
I stood, regardless of the coldness of my drenched and 
stiffening garments. The canoe, in every attempt to reach 
him, was hurried down the rapid, and was lost to view 
amongst the rocky islets, with a fury which seemed to 
threaten instant destruction; once, indeed, I fancied that 
I saw it overwhelmed in the waves : such an event would 
have been fatal to the whole party. Separated as I was 
from my companions, without gun, ammunition, hatchet, 
or the means of making a fire, and in wet clothes, my doom 
would have been speedily sealed. My companions, too, 
driven to the necessity of coasting the lake, must have 
sunk under the fatigue of rounding its innumerable arms 
and bays, which, as we learned afterwards from the Indians, 
are extensive. By the goodness of Providence, however, 
we were spared at that time, and some of us have been 
permitted to offer up our thanksgiving in a civilized land 
for the signal deliverance we then and afterwards ex- 
perienced." * 

On setting out next morning, Perrault brought in a fine 
male deer, which raised the spirits of the party, as it 
secured them in provisions for two days ; and they trusted 
to support themselves for a third on the skin which they 
carried with them. Having ascended the Willingham 
Mountains, they entered upon a rugged country, intersected 
by deep ravines, the passage of which was so difficult, that 
they could only make ten miles with great fatigue. The 
deer was now picked to the last morsel, and they ate pieces 
of the singed hide with a little tripe de roche. At other 

* Franklin's Journey, pp. 410, 411. 



1820.] TRIPE DE ROCHE FAILS. 193 

times this meal might have sufficed; but, exhausted by 
slender food and continued toil, their appetites had become 
ravenous. Hitherto events had been so mercifully ordered, 
that in their utmost need some little supply in the tripe de 
roche had never failed them; but it was the will of God 
that their confidence should be yet more strongly tried; 
for they now entered upon a level country covered with 
snow, where even this miserable lichen was no longer to 
be found ; and a bed of Iceland moss, which was boiled for 
supper, proved so bitter that none of the party, though 
enduring the extremities of hunger, could taste more than 
a few spoonfuls. Another distress now attacked them : 
the intensity of the cold increased, while they became less 
fit to endure it. Their blankets did not suffice to keep 
them warm, and the slightest breeze pierced through their 
debilitated frames. "The reader," says Franklin, "will 
probably be desirous to know how we passed our time in 
such a comfortless situation. The first operation after 
encamping was to thaw our frozen shoes, if a sufficient fire 
could be made; dry ones were then put on. Each person 
then wrote his notes of the daily occurrences, and evening 
prayers were read. As soon as supper was prepared it was 
eaten, generally in the dark, and we went to bed, and kept 
up a cheerful conversation until our blankpts were thawed 
by the heat of our bodies, and we had gathered sufficient 
warmth to enable us to fall asleep. On many nights we 
had not even the luxury of going to bed in dry clothes ; 
for, when the fire was insufficient to dry our shoes, we 
dared not venture to pull them off, lest they should freeze 
so hard as to be unfit to put on in the morning, and there- 
fore inconvenient to carry." * 

Hunger, fatigue, and disappointment, began now to have 

* Franklin's Journey, p. 414. 



194 INSUBORDINATION. [1820. 

a calamitous effect upon the tempers of the men. One, 
who carried the canoe, after several severe falls, threw 
down his burden, and obstinately refused to resume it. It 
was accordingly given to another, who proved stronger, 
and pushed forward at so rapid a rate that Mr. Hood, whose 
weakness was now extreme, could not keep up with them; 
and as Franklin attempted to pursue and stop them, the 
whole party were separated. Dr. Richardson, who had 
remained behind to gather tripe de roche, joined him, and 
on advancing they found the men encamped among some 
willows, where they had found some pieces of skin and a 
few bones of deer which had been devoured by the wolves. 
On these they had made a meal, having burnt and pounded 
the bones, boiled the skin, and added their old shoes to the 
mess. With this no fault could be found; but on questioning 
the person to whom the canoe had been intrusted, it was dis- 
covered that he had left the boat behind, it having, as he 
said, been broken by a fall, and rendered entirely useless. 

To the infatuated obstinacy of the men in refusing to 
retrace their steps and fetch it, even in its shattered state, 
is to be ascribed much of the distress of their subsequent 
journey. Every argument and entreaty seemed entirely 
thrown away; and they had apparently lost all hope of 
being preserved. When the hunters, who had been out 
for some time, did not make their appearance, they became 
furious at the idea of having been deserted, and throwing 
down their bundles, declared they would follow them at all 
hazards, and leave the weakest to keep up as they best 
could. The remonstrances of the officers at length opened 
their minds to the madness of such a scheme; and on en- 
camping in the evening, they found some pines seven or 
eight feet high, which furnished a comfortable fire, when 
they made their supper on tripe de roche. Next morning 
a herd of deer came in sight, and they killed five — a 



1820.] THE COPPERMINE RIVER. 195 

supply which, considering the extremity of hunger and 
despair to which they were reduced, was especially provi- 
dential. It was evident that He, without whom not a 
sparrow falls to the ground, was with them in their extre- 
mity of distress ; and, casting themselves upon his care, 
every heart expanded with hope and gratitude. 

The Canadians now earnestly petitioned for a day's rest. 
They pleaded their recent sufferings, and that the enjoy- 
ment of two substantial meals, after eight days' famine, 
would enable them to press forward more vigorously. The 
flesh, the skins, and even the stomachs of the deer, were 
accordingly equally divided among the party, and some of 
them suffered severely from too free an indulgence in the 
use of this food after so long an abstinence. Next morning 
the party resumed their journey, and after a walk of three 
miles, came to the Coppermine River. Its current was 
strong ; but with a canoe there would have been no diffi- 
culty in crossing; and the reckless folly of the men, 
in abandoning their only means of transport, was now 
brought strongly to their mind. No ford could be dis- 
covered, and the plan was suggested of framing a vessel of 
willows, covered with the canvass of the tent; but the 
most experienced boatmen declared the willows were too 
small to bear the weight, and no pines could be found. 
Nothing remained but to resume their march along the 
borders of the lake ; and looking out eagerly, but in vain, 
for some fordable place, they encamped at the east end. 
Anxious to adopt every possible means for preserving the 
party, Franklin sent Mr. Back forward with the interpre- 
ters to hunt. He was directed to halt at the first pines, 
and construct a raft; and if his hunters had killed animals 
sufficient to provision them, he was to cross immediately, 
and send the Indians with supplies of meat to the party 
behind. 



196 A EAFT CONSTRUCTED. [1820. 

At this time it was discovered that two of the men had 
stolen part of the officers' provision, though it had been 
doled out with the strictest impartiality, and they saw 
their leaders suffering more acutely than themselves. To 
punish this was impossible, except by the threat that they 
should forfeit their wages, which produced little effect. 
Despondency had deeply seized upon the party, and in the 
morning strict orders could not prevent them from strag- 
gling in search of the remains of animals; in consequence 
of which much time was lost in halting, and ammunition 
in firing guns to collect them. The snow, however, had 
disappeared, and pressing forward with more alacrity, 
they came to an arm of the lake running north-east. The 
idea of making the long circuit round it was distressing ; 
and having halted to consult what was to be done, some 
one discovered in a cliff the carcass of a deer which had 
fallen into a chasm. It was quite putrid, but even in that 
state appeared delicious, and a fire being kindled, a large 
portion was rapidly devoured ; whilst the men, cheered by 
this unexpected breakfast, regained their confidence, and 
requested leave to return to the rapid, insisting on the 
practicability of making a sufficiently strong raft of willows, 
though they had formerly pronounced it impossible. Their 
advice was followed; and having sent off Augustus, one of 
the interpreters, to inform Mr. Back of this change of 
plan, they commenced their retrograde movement, and 
encamped at night in a deep valley among some large 
willows, where they supped on the remains of the putrid 
deer. 

Next day they regained the rapids, commenced cutting 
willows for the raft, and a reward of three hundred livres 
was promised by Franklin to the person who should convey 
a line across the river strong enough to manage the raft 
and transport the party. The willows when cut were 






1820.] Richardson's generosity. 197 

bound into fagots, and the work completed ; but the green- 
ness of the wood rendered it heavy, and incapable of sup- 
porting more than one man at a time. Still they hoped 
to be able to cross ; but all depended on getting a line 
carried to the opposite bank, through a current one hun- 
dred and thirty yards wide, strong, deep, and intensely 
cold. Belanger and Benoit, the two strongest men of the 
party, repeatedly attempted to take the raft over, but for 
want of oars were driven back. The tent- staves were then 
tied together, and formed a strong pole; but it was not 
long enough to reach the bottom even at a short distance 
from the shore. Dr. Eichardson next produced a paddle 
he had brought from the coast, but which was found not 
powerful enough to impel the raft against a strong breeze. 
The failure of every attempt occasioned a deep despondency, 
which threatened to have the most fatal effects, when Dr. 
Richardson, with a disinterested courage that made him 
forget his own weakness, threw off his upper garments, and 
attempted to swim with a rope to the opposite bank. 
Plunging in with a line round his middle, he at first made 
some way, but the extreme cold was too much for him, and 
in a few moments his arms became powerless ; still, being 
an expert swimmer, he not only kept himself afloat, but 
made way by turning on his back and using his legs, so 
that he had nearly reached the other side, when, to the in- 
expressible anguish of those who watched his progress, his 
limbs became benumbed, and he sank. All hands now 
hauled on the line, and drew him ashore almost lifeless; 
but, placed before a fire of willows and stript of his wet 
clothes, he gradually revived enough to give directions as 
to the mode of treating him. His thin and emaciated limbs, 
which were now exposed to view, produced an involuntary 
exclamation of compassion and surprise: — "Ah, que nous 
sommes maigres!" said the French Canadians; but it is 



198 ACCUMULATED SUFFERINGS. [1820. 

probable that few of them would have presented so gaunt 
and attenuated an appearance as the brave and excellent 
man who had thus nearly fallen a sacrifice to his humanity, 
for it was discovered about this time that the hunters were 
in the practice of withholding the game which they shot, 
and devouring it in secret.* 

Soon after this the party were joined by Mr. Back, who 
had traced the lake about fifteen miles farther up without 
discovering any place where it was possible to get across; 
and towards evening, Credit, who had been out hunting, 
returned without any game of his own killing, but brought 
the antlers and backbone of a deer shot during the summer. 
These relics had been already picked clean by the wolves 
and birds of prey, but the marrow remained in the spine; 
and though completely putrid, and so acrid as to excoriate 
the lips, it was not the less acceptable. The bones were 
rendered friable by burning, and the whole eagerly de- 
voured. St. Germain, one of the voyagers, now suggested 
that a canoe might be made of the painted canvass used to 
wrap up the bedding, and offered to construct it upon a 
framework of willows. For this purpose he and Adam 
removed to a clump of willows, whilst another party pro- 
ceeded to the spot where they had encamped on the 25th, 
to collect pitch amongst the small pines to pay over the 
seams. A snow-storm at this moment came on, and the 
sufferings of the men hourly increasing, a deep gloom 
settled upon their spirits. Mr. Hood was by this time re- 
duced to a perfect shadow; Mr. Back required the support 
of a stick ; Dr. Richardson was lame ; and Franklin so 
feeble, that, after a struggle of three hours, he found him- 
self utterly unable to reach the spot where St. Germain was 
at work, a distance of only three quarters of a mile, and 

* Franklin's Journey, pp. 423, 424. 



1820.] THE RIVER CROSSED. 199 

returned completely exhausted. The Canadian voyagers 
had now fallen into a state of despondency which bordered 
on despair, and, indifferent to their fate, refused to make 
the slightest exertion. The officers were unable to undergo 
the labour of gathering the tripe de roche, and Samandre, 
the cook, sullenly declined continuing his labours. At this 
miserable crisis the conduct of John Hepburn, an English 
sailor, was especially admirable, presenting a striking con- 
trast to the gloomy selfishness of the Canadians. His firm 
reliance on the watchful goodness of God, and a cheerful 
resignation to his will, never for a moment forsook him; 
and, animated by this blessed principle, his strength ap- 
peared to be preserved as the means of saving the party. 
He collected the tripe de roche for the officers' mess, cooked 
and served it out, and showed the most indefatigable zeal 
in his efforts to alleviate their sufferings. 

A gleam of hope at length arose, when St. Germain 
completed the canoe. It was impossible not to feel that 
their last chance of escape seemed to hang upon this little 
bark; would it prove sufficient for its purpose? or, con- 
structed of such wretched materials, would it not at once 
sink to the bottom? Amid this conflict of contending 
emotions it was launched on the river, and every heart 
bounded with exultation when it floated and St. Germain 
transported himself to the opposite side. It was drawn 
back, and, one by one, the whole party were ferried over, 
though, from the leaky state of the little bark, their gar- 
ments and bedding were completely drenched. Franklin 
immediately despatched Mr. Back and three men to push 
on to Fort Enterprise in search of the Indians, whilst he 
himself followed with the rest. 

Nothing could exceed the joy of the Canadian voyagers 
at this unlooked-for deliverance. Their spirits rose from 
the deepest despondency into tumultuous exultation. They 



200 SLOW PKOGRESS. [1820. 

shook the officers by the hand, cried out that their worst 
difficulties were at an end, and expressed a confident hope 
of being able to reach Fort Enterprise in the course of a 
few days — a boisterous and sudden confidence, to which the 
silent gratitude and quiet resolution of the pious Hepburn 
presented a striking contrast. 

Their tents and bedclothes were so much frozen, and the 
men, who had kindled a small fire, so weary, that it was 
eight in the morning before the bundles were packed, and 
the party set forward. They travelled in single files, each 
at a small distance from his neighbour. Mr. Hood, who 
was now nearly exhausted, was obliged to walk at a gentle 
pace in the rear, Dr. Richardson kindly keeping beside him ; 
whilst Franklin led the foremost men, that he might make 
them halt occasionally till the stragglers came up. Credit, 
hitherto one of their most active hunters, became lamentably 
weak from the effects of tripe de roche on his constitution, 
and Vaillant, from the same cause, was getting daily more 
emaciated. They only advanced six miles during the day, 
and at night satisfied the cravings of hunger by a small 
quantity of tripe de roche mixed up with some scraps of 
roasted leather. During the night the wind increased to 
a strong gale, which continuing next day, besides being 
piercingly cold, filled the atmosphere with a thick snow- 
drift. Having boiled and eaten the remains of their old 
shoes, and every shred of leather which could be picked up, 
they set forward at nine over bleak hills separated by 
equally barren valleys. 

In this manner they journeyed till noon, not without 
much straggling and frequent halts, at which time Samandre 
came up with the melancholy news that Credit and Vaillant 
had dropt down and were utterly unable to proceed. Dr. 
Richardson went back, and discovering Vaillant about a 
mile and a half in the rear, assured him a fire was kindled 






1820.] TWO MEN LEFT IN THE SNOW. 201 

a little way on, and that he would recover if he could but 
reach it ; the poor fellow struggled up on his feet, and 
feebly tried to advance, but fell down every step in the 
deep snow. Leaving him, Dr. Richardson retraced his 
steps about a mile farther in a fruitless search for Credit. 
In returning he passed Vaillant, who had fallen down, 
utterly unable to renew his efforts to rejoin the party. 
Belanger went back to carry his burden and assist him to 
the fire ; but the cold had produced such a numbness that 
he could not speak or make the slightest exertion. The 
stoutest of the party were now implored to make a last 
effort to transport him to the fire, but declared themselves 
utterly unable for the task. They eagerly requested leave 
to throw down their loads, and proceed with the utmost 
speed to Fort Enterprise — a scheme projected in the de- 
spair of the moment, and which must have brought destruc- 
tion upon the whole. 

Matters had now reached a dreadful crisis; it was 
necessary to come to an immediate decision regarding their 
ultimate measures, and a plan proposed by Mr. Hood and 
Dr. Richardson was adopted. These gentlemen consented 
to remain with a single attendant at the first spot where 
there were sufficient firewood and tripe de roche for ten 
days' consumption, whilst Franklin and the rest were to 
proceed with all expedition to Fort Enterprise, and to send 
immediate assistance. This scheme promised to relieve 
them of a considerable portion of their burdens — for one of 
the tents and various other articles were to be left ; and it gave 
poor Credit and Vaillant a fairer opportunity, should they 
revive, of regaining their companions. On the resolution 
being communicated to the men, they were cheered with 
the prospect of an alleviation of their misery, and pressed 
forward in search of a convenient spot for the proposed 
separation. Near nightfall they encamped under the lee 



202 RICHARDSON AND HOOD REMAIN. [1820. 

of a hill amongst some willows, which furnished a small fire, 
but not sufficiently strong to thaw their frozen clothes ; and 
no tripe de roche having been found during the day, they 
lay down hungry, cold, and full of the gloomiest apprehen- 
sions, whilst sleep fled from their eyelids, and the images 
of their dying companions rose before their imagination in 
colours which made them shudder for a fate that might so 
soon become their own * Next morning the weather pro- 
videntially was mild, and setting out at nine they arrived 
towards noon at a thicket of willows, in the neighbourhood 
of some rocks bearing a pretty full supply of tripe de roche. 
Here Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood determined to remain. 
The tent was pitched, a barrel of ammunition and other 
articles were deposited, and Hepburn, who volunteered the 
service, was appointed to continue with them. The rest of 
the party now had only to carry a single tent, the ammu- 
nition, and the officers' journals, in addition to their own 
clothes and a single blanket for Captain Franklin. When 
all was ready, the whole party united in thanksgiving and 
prayers to Almighty God for their mutual preservation, 
and separated with the melancholy reflection, that it might 
in all probability be the last time they should ever again 
meet in this world. 

On leaving their friends, Captain Franklin and his party 
descended into a more level country ; but the snow lay so 
deep, that they were so little able to wade through it that 
they encamped, after a painful march of only four miles 
and a half, in which Belanger, and Michel, an Iroquois, 
were left far behind, yet still struggling forward. In the 
evening they came in dreadfully exhausted, and Belanger, 
till now one of the strongest of the party, could not refrain 
from tears as he declared he was totally unable to proceed, 

* Franklin's Journey, pp. 431, 432. 



1820.] FRANKLIN PUSHES FORWARD. 203 

and implored permission to return to Dr. Richardson and 
Mr. Hood. Michel made the same request, and it was agreed 
that they should do so. The cold of the night was exces- 
sive, and the men were so weak that they could not raise 
the tent ; from its weight it was impossible to transport it 
from place to place, and it was cut up, the canvass serving 
them for a covering ; but though they lay close together, 
the intense frost deprived them of sleep. Having no tripe 
de roche, they had supped upon an infusion of the Labrador 
tea-plant, with a few morsels of burnt leather. Michel and 
Belanger, being apparently more exhausted in the morning 
than over night, were left, whilst the rest moved forward. 
After a very short progress, Perrault was attacked with a 
fit of dizziness ; but on halting a little, again proposed to 
proceed. In ten minutes, however, he sunk down, and 
weeping aloud, declared his total inability to go on. He 
was accordingly advised to rejoin Michel and Belanger — a 
proposal in which he acquiesced. These examples of the 
total failure of the strongest in the party had a very un- 
favourable effect on the spirits of the rest, and the exertion 
of wading through the snow and crossing a lake on the ice, 
where they were frequently blown down, was so severe, that 
Fontano, after having repeatedly fallen, piteously com- 
plained that he was utterly unable to go farther. Being 
not two miles from the others, it was thought best that he 
also should attempt to rejoin them ;* and as he was much 
beloved, the parting was very distressing. They watched 
him for some time, and were comforted by seeing that, 
though his progress was very slow, he kept his feet better 
than before. 

The whole party was now reduced to five persons, 
Captain Franklin, Adam, Peltier, Benoit, and Samandre, 

* Franklin's Journey, pp. 436, 437. 



204 ARRIVAL AT FORT ENTERPRISE, [1820. 

the interpreter Augustus having pressed forward by himself 
during the late frequent halts. They made that day only 
four miles and a half, and encamped for the night under 
a rock, supping again on an infusion of the Labrador tea- 
plant and some shreds of boiled leather. The evening was 
comparatively mild, the breeze light, and having the com- 
fort of a fire, they enjoyed some sleep. This was of infinite 
advantage ; it gave them new spirits, which were farther 
invigorated by a breakfast of tripe de roche, this being the 
fourth day since they had a regular meal. On reaching 
Marten Lake they found it frozen over — a circumstance 
which they knew would enable them to walk upon the ice 
straight to Fort Enterprise. 

It may be easily imagined what were the sensations of 
the party in approaching the spot which they trusted would 
be the end of all their toils and privations. From the 
arrangements previously made, it was judged certain that 
they would here find relief, and be able to send assistance 
to their unfortunate companions. It was a spot where they 
had enjoyed at a former period of the expedition the 
greatest comfort ; but it was possible, though they scarcely 
permitted themselves to contemplate so dreadful an idea, 
that circumstances might have occurred to defeat their 
present expectations. On approaching the house their 
minds were strongly agitated betwixt hope and fear, and 
contrary to their usual custom, they advanced in silence. 
At length they reached it, and their worst apprehensions 
were realized. It was completely desolate. No provisions 
had been deposited — no trace of Indians could be discovered 
— no letter lay there from Mr. Wentzel to inform them 
where the Indians might be found. On entering, a mute 
despair seized the party. They gazed on the cold hearth, 
comfortless walls, and broken sashes, through which the 
wind and snow penetrated, and awakening to a full sense 






1820.] WHICH IS FOUND DESERTED. 205 

of the horrors of their situation, burst into tears.* On re- 
covering a little, and looking round with more attention, a 
note was found from Mr. Back, stating that having two 
days before this reached the house, he had proceeded in 
search of the Indians; but described his party as so 
debilitated that it was doubtful whether they would be able 
to reach Fort Providence. The sufferings endured by this 
meritorious officer and his little party, one of whom was 
frozen to death, were equally dreadful with those which fell 
to the share of his excellent commander* -j- 

The poor sufferers thus grievously disappointed, now 
examined the deserted habitation for the means of sub- 
sistence, and found several deer- skins thrown away during 
their former residence at the fort. The heaps of ashes 
were carefully raked, and a considerable collection of bones 
discovered, which were hoarded up for the purpose of being 
pounded and manufactured into soup. The parchment 
originally employed instead of glass had been torn from 
the windows, and the place was exposed to all the inclem- 
ency of an arctic winter ; but they succeeded in filling the 
sashes with loose boards, and as the temperature of the outer 
air was now from 15° to 20° below zero, this precaution 
was especially necessary. To procure water, they melted 
the frozen lumps of snow, and the flooring of the neighbour- 
ing apartment was broken up for fuel. 

Having completed these arrangements, they assembled 
round the fire, and were busy singeing the hair off a deer- 
skin, when they were cheered by the entrance of the inter- 
preter, who had made his way to the fort by a different 
route, through a country he had never traversed before. 
Though by far the strongest of the party, he was now so 
enfeebled by famine that he could not follow two deer 

* Franklin's Journey, pp. 438, 439. 

f See Mr. Back's interesting Narrative, Franklin's Journey, p. 477. 



206 NOTE FROM MR. BACK. [1820. 

which he had seen on his way. Next morning there was 
a heavy gale from the south-east, and the snow drifted so 
thick that no one ventured abroad. On the evening of the 
succeeding day, a figure covered with ice, benumbed with 
cold, and almost speechless, staggered into the house. It 
was one of the Canadians, who had been despatched with a 
note by Mr. Back, and having fallen into a rapid narrowly 
escaped being drowned.* To change his dress, wrap him 
in warm blankets, and pour some soup over his throat, was 
their first care; and after a little he revived enough to 
answer the anxious questions with which he was assailed. 
From his replies but little comfort was derived. Mr. Back 
had seen no trace of the Indians, and the messenger's re- 
collection appeared confused with regard to the part of the 
country where he had left his officer, who, as he stated, 
intended to proceed to the spot where the Indian chief 
Akaitcho had encamped last summer — a distance of about 
thirty miles. Thither he proposed to follow when he was 
a little recruited ; and, though dissuaded from the attempt, 
persisted that as the track was beaten he would be able to 
make it out, and to convey intelligence of the situation of 
Captain Franklin's party. Accordingly, the fifth day after 
his arrival, he departed from the fort with a small supply 
of singed hide. 

Not long after, Adam, one of the five men who now re- 
mained with Captain Franklin, became so ill that he was 
utterly incapable of moving, and it was discovered that he 
had been for some time afflicted with oedematous swellings 
in various parts of his body, which he had hitherto gener- 
ously concealed, from a wish not to impede the movements 
of his companions. As it was impossible for this poor man 
to travel, it was necessary to abandon the original intention 



* Franklin's Journey, pp. 440, 441. 



1820.] FKANKLIN ATTEMPTS TO PKOCEED. 207 

of proceeding with the whole party to Fort Providence, and 
Peltier and Samandre, who were in almost as weak a state, 
having expressed a wish to remain with Adam, Captain 
Franklin, along with Augustus and Benoit, determined to 
press on to Fort Providence, and to send relief to their 
companions by the first party of Indians they should meet. 
Having accordingly given directions regarding the jour- 
nals and charts which were left in their custody, and the 
best mode of forwarding succour to Mr. Hood and Dr. 
Richardson, Franklin set forward with his two attendants ; 
but so feeble had they become, that the distance accom- 
plished in six hours was only four miles. They encamped 
on the borders of Round Rock Lake, and, unable to find 
any tripe de roche, made their supper upon fried deer- skin. 
The night proved intensely cold, and although they crept 
as close to each other as possible, they shivered in every 
limb, and the wind pierced through their famished frames.* 
Next morning was mild, and they set out early, but had 
scarce proceeded a few yards, when Franklin fell between 
two rocks, and broke his snow-shoes, an accident which 
incapacitated him from keeping up with Benoit and Au- 
gustus. In a very short time his attempt to press forward 
completely exhausted him ; and as the only hope of pre- 
serving the lives of the party appeared to rest on their 
speedily reaching Fort Providence, he determined, rather 
than retard them, to retrace his steps to the house, whilst 
they proceeded for assistance. Calling a moment's halt, 
he addressed one note to Mr. Back, requesting an imme- 
diate supply of meat from Rein Deer Lake, and another to 
the commandant at Fort Providence, with urgent entreaties 
for assistance. This done, Augustus and Benoit resumed 
their journey, and Franklin returned to the house. 

* Franklin's Journey, p. 444. 



208 FRANKLIN JOINED BY HIS FRIENDS, [1820. 

On arriving, he found Adam, Samandre, and Peltier 
still alive; but the two first, whose minds seemed quite 
enfeebled, could not be prevailed on to leave their bed, 
and their nervous weakness was so great that they scarcely 
ceased shedding tears all day. It was even with difficulty 
that they were prevailed on to take any nourishment ; and 
the labour of cutting and carrying fuel, gathering the tripe 
de roche, and cooking, fell entirely upon Franklin and 
Peltier. The frost was now so severe, that it was evident 
this lichen would soon be bound up in ice, and as their 
strength daily declined, every exertion became irksome. 
When once seated, it required a painful effort to rise up, 
and not unfrequently they had to lift each other from their 
chairs. This miserable condition could not last long. Pel- 
tier soon became almost incapable of holding the hatchet ; 
the bone- soup had become so acrid as to corrode the inside 
of their mouths ; the tripe de roche, covered with ice, defied 
all efforts to detach it from the rock ; and though the rein- 
deer sported on the banks of the river, no one had strength 
to go after them, or to hold a gun so steadily as to secure 
an aim. 

Still the hopes and cheerfulness of Franklin did not de- 
sert him. From his knowledge of the places mostly fre- 
quented at that season by the Indians, he was sanguine as 
to the likelihood of their being found ; and their speedy 
arrival formed a constant subject of conversation. At 
length, on the evening of the 29th, when talking of his 
long-looked-for relief, and sitting round the fire, Peltier 
suddenly leapt up and uttered a joyful exclamation, ima- 
gining he heard the bustle of the Indians in the adjoining 
room. It was not the Indians, however, but Dr. Richard- 
son and Hepburn, who came in, each carrying his bundle. 
The meeting was one of mingled joy and sorrow. Poor 
Hood's absence was instantly perceived, and their saddest 






1820.] DR. RICHARDSON AND HEPBURN. 209 

anticipations were confirmed by Dr. Richardson declaring 
that this young officer and Michel were dead, and that 
neither Perrault nor Fontano had reached the tent, or been 
heard of. Such news could not fail to create despondency. 
All were shocked at the emaciated countenances and hollow 
voices of Dr. Richardson and his companion, while Captain 
Franklin and his fellow-sufferers, having become gradually 
accustomed to the dreadful effects of famine upon each other, 
were not aware that, to the eyes of their friends who had 
just arrived, the alteration upon themselves was equally 
melancholy. "The doctor," says Franklin, "particularly 
remarked the sepulchral tone of our voices, which he re- 
quested us to make more cheerful if possible, not aware 
that his own partook of the same key."* 

The arrival of these friends, however, was soon attended 
with a favourable change. Though greatly reduced, they 
were still in a better condition than their unfortunate com- 
panions, and it was not long till Hepburn shot a partridge. 
Dr. Richardson speedily tore off the feathers, and having 
held it for a few minutes at the fire, divided it into six 
pieces : Franklin and his companions ravenously devoured 
their portions, " being the first morsel of flesh that any of 
them had tasted for thirty-one days;" and Dr. Richardson 
cheered them with the prospect that Hepburn might pos- 
sibly bring in a deer in his next expedition. The counsels 
and example of this pious and intelligent man produced the 
best effects on the spirits of the party. He had brought 
with him his Testament and Prayer-book, and by reading 
portions of Scripture appropriate to their situation, and en- 
couraging them to join in prayer and thanksgiving, he led 
them to the only source whence, under the awful circum- 
stances in which they were placed, they could derive hope 

* Franklin's Journey, p. 447. 



210 HAPPY EFFECTS OF HEPBURN'S COUNSELS. [1820. 

or consolation. He taught them the necessity of exertion, 
whatever pain it might at first cost ; roused them to pay- 
some attention to the cleanliness of their apartment, and 
insisted particularly, that during the day they should roll 
up their blankets, which they had been in the practice of 
leaving beside the fire where they slept. Their several 
tasks were now allotted to each : Hepburn and Richardson 
went out in search of deer ; while Franklin, being unable 
to walk far, remained nearer the house, and digged under 
the snow for skins, which, during their former happy winter 
residence at this station, when they killed and ate abun- 
dance of game, were thrown away as useless, but now in 
their almost putrid state formed their principal support. 
The cutting of firewood was intrusted to Peltier and Sa- 
mandre ; but both were so weak and dispirited, that it was 
generally performed by Hepburn on his return from hunt- 
ing ; as for Adam, his legs were still so severely swollen 
that he kept his bed, though an operation performed by 
Dr. Richardson gave him some ease. In the midst of 
these necessary cares, all seemed for a while to dread ap- 
proaching the subject of Hood and Michel's death ; but at 
length one evening, on the return of the doctor from hunt- 
ing, and after having despatched their usual supper of 
singed skin and bone- soup, they requested him to relate 
the particulars, and a more afflicting, or, in some respects, 
a more terrific story, as it appears in his published narra- 
tive, could not well be conceived. 

He stated, that after being left by Captain Franklin, 
they remained beside the fire as long as it lasted. Having 
no tripe de roche, they supped on an infusion of the country 
tea-plant, which was grateful from its warmth, but afforded 
no nourishment, and retired to rest. Next day proved 
stormy, and the snow being so deep that a fire could not 
be kindled with the green willows, they lay in bed reading 



1820.] Richardson's narrative. 211 

some religious books with which the party had been fur- 
nished before leaving England by the affectionate and pious 
care of a lady. " They proved," says Richardson, " of in- 
calculable benefit to us. We read portions of them to each 
other as we lay in bed, in addition to the morning and 
evening service, and found that they inspired us on each 
perusal with so strong a sense of the omnipresence of a 
beneficent God, that our situation in these wilds appeared 
no longer destitute; and we conversed not only with calm- 
ness, but with cheerfulness, detailing with unrestrained con- 
fidence the past events of our lives, and dwelling with hope 
upon our future prospects."* 

The weather clearing up, Dr. Richardson went out in 
search of tripe de roche, leaving Mr. Hood in bed, and 
Hepburn cutting willows for a fire; but the rocks were 
covered with ice and snow, and he was unsuccessful. On 
his return he found Michel, the Iroquois, who delivered 
the note from Franklin. -J- All were surprised to see him 
alone; but he stated that Belanger had separated from him, 
and, as he supposed, lost his way, he himself having wan- 
dered far from the straight road. They had afterwards 
good reason to suspect the truth of this story, but believed 
it at that moment, and were rejoiced to see him produce a 
hare and a partridge — an unlooked-for supply, which they 
received with humble thankfulness to the Giver of all good. 
Franklin's note advised them to advance to a little wood of 
pines which would afford better fuel ; and to thi3 they re- 
moved under the guidance of Michel, who led them straight 
to the spot. 

As he had declared himself so little acquainted with the 
country as to lose his way, it seemed strange that he should 
at once conduct them to the thicket. This roused their 

* Franklin's Journey, p. 449. t Ibid. p. 449. 



212 michel's suspicious conduct. [1820. 

attention, and made them feel rather uneasy as to his 
honesty; and various circumstances occurred to increase 
their suspicions. He requested the loan of a hatchet, when 
any other hunter would have taken only his knife. He 
remained abroad all day without any definite employment. 
He brought them some raw meat, saying it was part of 
the carcass of a wolf, but which they had afterwards rea- 
son to believe was a portion of the bodies of Belanger and 
Perrault, whom they suspected him to have murdered. 
He shunned the society of Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood, 
refusing to sleep in the tent, and preferring to lie alone at 
the fire. On going out with the purpose of remaining a 
whole day, he often returned abruptly, and when questioned 
gave vague answers. In a few days he began to regret 
that he had left Captain Franklin's party, refused to take 
any share in the labour of cutting wood, talked in a surly 
and insolent manner, and could scarcely be prevailed upon 
to go out and hunt at all. These symptoms of gloomy 
dissatisfaction increased; he resisted all entreaties, and 
when Mr. Hood, who was now reduced by famine to the 
last extremity, remonstrated with him, he flew into a vio- 
lent passion, and exclaimed, " It is of no use hunting ; 
there are no animals; you had better kill and eat me." 
He afterwards, however, consented to go out, but returned 
upon some frivolous pretence; and on the succeeding day 
that dreadful catastrophe took place, which will be best 
given in the words of Dr. Richardson's Journal. 

"In the morning," says he, "being Sunday, October 
20th, we again urged Michel to go a-hunting, that he 
might, if possible, leave us some provision, to-morrow being 
the day appointed for his quitting us; but he showed great 
unwillingness to go out, and lingered about the fire under 
the pretence of cleaning his gun. After we had read the 
morning service, I went about noon to gather some tripe 



1820.] MURDER OF MR. HOOD. 213 

de roche, leaving Mr. Hood sitting before the tent at the 
fireside arguing with Michel. Hepburn was employed 
cutting down a tree at a small distance from the tent, being 
desirous of accumulating a quantity of firewood. A short 
time after I went out, I heard the report of a gun, and 
about ten minutes afterwards Hepburn called to me in a 
voice of great alarm to come directly. When I arrived, I 
found poor Hood lying lifeless at the fireside, a ball having 
apparently entered his forehead. I was at first horror- 
struck with the idea that in a fit of despondency he had 
hurried himself into the presence of his Almighty Judge 
by an act of his own hand ; but the conduct of Michel soon 
gave rise to other thoughts, and excited suspicions which 
were confirmed, when, upon examining the body, I found 
that the shot had entered the back part of the head and had 
passed out at the forehead, whilst the muzzle of the gun 
had been applied so close as to set fire to the nightcap 
behind. The gun, which was of the longest kind supplied 
to the Indians, could not have been placed in the position 
to inflict such a wound except by a second person. Upon 
inquiring of Michel how it happened, he replied that Mr. 
Hood had sent him into the tent for the short gun, and 
that during his absence the long gun had gone off, he did 
not know whether by accident or not. He held the short 
gun in his hand at the time he was speaking. Hepburn 
afterwards asserted, that previous to the report of the gun, 
Mr. Hood and Michel were speaking to each other in an 
elevated, angry tone; — he added, that Mr. Hood being 
seated at the fireside, was hid from him by intervening 
willows ; but that on hearing the report he looked up, and 
saw Michel rising up from before the tent-door, or just 
behind where Mr. Hood was seated, and then going into 
the tent. Thinking that the gun had been discharged for 
the purpose of cleaning it, he did not go to the fire at first; 



214 MURDER OF MR. HOOD [1820. 

and when Michel called to him that Mr. Hood was dead, a 
considerable time had elapsed. * * * Bickersteth's Scripture 
Help was lying open beside the body, as if it had fallen 
from his hand, and it is probable he was reading it at the 
instant of his death."* 

Such was the melancholy fate of Mr. Hood, a young 
officer of the highest promise, who, by his conduct, had 
endeared himself to every member of the expedition, and 
whose sufferings, as they were more intense, from the 
peculiarity of his constitution, were borne with a placid 
and unpretending fortitude, which it was impossible to 
contemplate without emotion. Both Dr. Richardson and 
Hepburn were convinced he had met his death from the 
hands of Michel ; but to have accused him at that moment 
would have been the extremity of rashness. They were 
so reduced by famine that he could easily have overpowered 
both. His appearance showed that he possessed secret 
supplies of food ; he was of great bodily strength, and was 
armed to the teeth, carrying, besides his gun, a brace of 
pistols, an Indian bayonet, and a knife. To have hinted a 
suspicion, therefore, might have been instantly fatal, and 
they affected to consider the death of their companion 
entirely accidental. As his weakness had been the chief 
cause of delaying their journey, they now set out for the 
fort, having first paid the last rites to the dead in the only 
way which their situation would permit. The ground was 
so hard, and their strength so exhausted, that to dig a grave 
was impossible ; so they carried the body into the willow 
grove behind the tent, and returning to the fire, read the 
funeral service in addition to their evening devotions. 

In the morning, having singed the hair off a portion of 
Mr. Hood's buffalo robe, they boiled and ate it for break- 

* Franklin's Journey, vol. iv. 12mo ed. p. 109-112. 



1820.] BY MICHEL THE IROQUOIS. 215 

fast. Meanwhile, the conduct of Michel was so extraordi- 
nary, that had they not been already convinced of his 
guilt, no doubt of it could have remained. Though not a 
breath of their suspicions reached his ears, he repeatedly 
protested that he was incapable of committing such an act ; 
he kept constantly on his guard, appeared fearful of leaving 
Dr. Richardson and Hepburn alone even for the shortest 
time, and when Hepburn spoke he listened anxiously, 
though very imperfectly acquainted with the English lan- 
guage, fixed his eyes keenly upon him, and asked fiercely 
if he accused him of the murder. He evinced great un- 
willingness to set out for the fort, and wished Dr. Richard- 
son to proceed to the Coppermine River, where he said the 
woods would supply plenty of deer. On finding this advice 
disregarded, his conduct became more and more alarming; 
he muttered to himself, fell into sullen fits of abstraction, and 
used those convulsive and abrupt gestures often involun- 
tarily exhibited by a person whose mind is full of some 
dreadful purpose. Suddenly awakening from this reverie, 
he again expressed his unwillingness to return to the fort, 
and renewed his solicitations to Dr. Richardson to repair to 
the southern woods, where they would find ample subsist- 
ence. On being requested to pursue his own plan alone, 
and leave them to continue their journey, he broke into an 
ungovernable fury, accused Hepburn of having told stories 
against him, and assumed such airs of superiority as showed 
that he knew they were both in his power, at the same 
time giving vent to expressions of hatred against the white 
people, calling them deadly enemies, and affirming they 
had killed and eaten his uncle and two of his relations. 

None of these menaces were lost upon Richardson and 
Hepburn; both felt they were not safe in this man's com- 
pany; and these dreadful surmises rose into certainty when 
he threw out hints that he would free himself from all 



216 michel's death. [1820. 

restraint on the morrow. Being now convinced that, as he 
had cruelly murdered Hood, he was resolved also to sacri- 
fice them, they ascribed his not having already done so to 
the circumstance of his not knowing the way to the fort, 
and requiring their guidance. They came to this conclu- 
sion without any communication with each other ; for their 
fierce companion would not leave them a moment, watching 
them with a malignant look, and frequently muttering 
threats against Hepburn. Towards evening, as they ap- 
proached the spot where it would be necessary to stop for 
the night, Michel halted to gather tripe de roche, and to 
their surprise bade them walk on, and he would soon over- 
take them. Hepburn and Dr. Richardson, now left alone 
together for the first time since Mr. Hood's death, rapidly 
opened their minds to each other. In addition to the facts 
already mentioned, others came to light, which left not the 
slightest doubt as to Michel's guilt; and so convinced was 
Hepburn of there being no safety for them but in his death, 
that, though a man of extreme benevolence and deep reli- 
gious principle, he offered to be the instrument of it him- 
self. " Had my own life," says Dr. Richardson, " alone 
been threatened, I would not have purchased it by such a 
measure; but I considered myself as intrusted also with the 
protection of Hepburn's, a man who by his humane atten- 
tions and devotedness had so endeared himself to me, that 
I felt more anxiety for his safety than for my own." Ani- 
mated by such feelings, and convinced that Michel's death 
was necessary to self-preservation, he determined that it 
ought to be by his own and not by Hepburn's hand, and on 
his coming up shot him through the head with a pistol. 
It appeared that he had gathered no tripe de roche, and had 
halted to put his gun in order, no doubt with the intention 
of attacking them when in the act of encamping.* 
* Franklin's Journey, pp. 457, 458. 



1820.] DEATH OP PELTIER AND SAMANDRE. 217 

Dr. Richardson and Hepburn now pursued their way to 
the fort ; but fatigue, and want of food and fuel, had nearly 
proved fatal to them. They remarked, however, that re- 
peatedly when death seemed inevitable, an unexpected sup- 
ply of provisions again restored them; and the confidence 
that, when no human help was nigh, they were supported 
by a merciful God, inspired them with renewed hope. At 
last they had the delight of beholding from an eminence 
the smoke issuing from the chimney of the fort, and imme- 
diately after, embracing those friends for whose fate they 
had entertained so many melancholy forebodings. So 
ended this interesting narrative. 

The whole party were now once more united, but under 
circumstances of the most distressing privation; all ema- 
ciated to such a degree as to look like living skeletons ; 
their hands shook from weakness, so that to take an aim 
was impossible; and the rein-deer, partridges, and other 
game, flew or bounded past in joyousness and security, 
whilst the unhappy beings who beheld them were gaunt 
with hunger. The winter was closing in with all its hor- 
rors; it became daily more difficult to procure fuel, the 
labour of cutting and carrying the logs being so grievous 
that only Dr. Richardson and Hepburn could undertake it; 
and to scrape the ground for bones, and to cook this miser- 
able meal, was all Captain Franklin could 'accomplish. On 
1st November the doctor obtained some tripe de roche; 
and as Peltier and Samandre were in the last stage of 
exhaustion, it was hoped a little of the soup might revive 
them. All was in vain ; they tasted a few spoonfuls, but 
soon complained of a soreness in their throats, and both 
died in the course of the night, apparently without pain. 
To inter the bodies, or even carry them to the river, was a 
task for which the united strength of the survivors was 
inadequate; all they could do was to remove them into an 



21.8 COURAGEOUS ENDURANCE. [1820. 

opposite part of tlie house; and the living and the dead 
remained in awful contiguity under the same roof. 

The party was now reduced to four — Franklin, Richard- 
son, Hepburn, and Adam. The last had become dreadfully 
low since the death of his companions, and could not bear 
to be left alone for a moment. Their stock of bones was 
exhausted, and in a short time it was evident that the 
severity of the frost must render the gathering of the tripe 
de roche impossible. Under these circumstances, with 
death by famine approaching every hour, this little band 
of pious and brave men were supported by an unwavering 
reliance on the mercy of God. " We read prayers," says 
Captain Franklin, " and a portion of the New Testament 
in the morning and evening, as had been our practice 
since Dr. Richardson's arrival; and I may remark, that 
the performance of these duties always afforded us the 
greatest consolation, serving to reanimate our hope in the 
mercy of the Omnipotent, who alone could save and deliver 
us." * It seemed as if it were the mysterious design of the 
Almighty to* permit them to be reduced to the lowest 
depth of suffering, that his power might be magnified at 
the very moment when every human effort appeared utterly 
impotent. Hitherto Dr. Richardson and Hepburn had 
been the healthiest of the party, but they had overwrought 
themselves, and both sunk rapidly. Owing to their loss of 
flesh, the hardness of the floor, from which they were only 
protected by a single blanket, rendered the whole surface 
of their bodies sore ; yet the labour of turning from one 
side to the other was too much for them. As their strength 
sunk, their mental faculties partook of the weakness of 
their frame; and, to employ the candid and simple expres- 
sions of the excellent leader, " an unreasonable pettishness 

* Franklin's Journey, p. 464. 



1820.] UNEXPECTED RELIEF. 219 

with each other began to manifest itself, each believing the 
other weaker in intellect than himself, and more in need of 
advice and assistance." During this gloomy period, after 
the first acute pains of hunger, which lasted but three or 
four days, had subsided, they generally enjoyed the re- 
freshment of sleep, accompanied by dreams which for the 
most part partook of a pleasant character, and very often 
related to the pleasures of feasting.* 

Help, however, was now near at hand, and we shall not 
impair the affecting description of their deliverance by 
giving it in any other than Captain Franklin's own words: 
— " On November 7th, Adam had passed a restless night, 
being disquieted by gloomy apprehensions of approaching 
death, which they tried in vain to dispel. He was so low 
in the morning as scarcely to be able to speak, and Captain 
Franklin remained by his bedside to cheer him as much as 
possible, whilst the doctor and Hepburn went out to cut 
wood. They had hardly begun their labour when they 
were amazed at hearing the report of a musket, and could 
scarcely believe that there was any one near till they heard 
a shout, and espied three Indians close to the house. Adam 
and Franklin heard the latter noise, and were fearful that 
some part of the house had fallen upon one of their com- 
panions — a disaster which had been thought not unlikely. 
The alarm was only momentary ; for Dr. Richardson came 
in to communicate the joyful intelligence that relief had 
arrived. He and Captain Franklin immediately addressed 
their thanksgivings to the Throne of Mercy for this de- 
liverance; but poor Adam was in so low a state that he 
could scarcely comprehend the information. When the 
Indians entered, he attempted to rise, but immediately 
sank down again. But for this seasonable interposition 

* Franklin's Journey, pp. 465, 466. 



220 ARRIVAL OF THE INDIANS. [1820. 

of Providence, his existence must have terminated in a few 
hours, and that of the rest probably in not many days."* 

The Indians who had been despatched by Mr. Back 
had travelled with great expedition, and brought a small 
supply of provisions. They imprudently presented too 
much food at first; and though aware of the effects which 
might arise from a surfeit, and warned by Dr. Richardson 
to eat very sparingly, the sight of the venison was irresis- 
tible ; and it was devoured by them all, not excluding the 
doctor himself, with an avidity that soon produced the 
most acute pains, which during the night deprived them of 
rest. Adam, whose weakness rendered him unable to feed 
himself, was not subjected to the same inconvenience, and 
taking moderate meals revived hourly. All now was 
thankfulness and cheerful activity. Boudel-kell, the 
youngest Indian, after an hour's rest, returned to the 
encampment of Akaitcho, the Dog-rib chief, carrying a 
note from Captain Franklin, and a request for another 
supply of provisions. The two others, named in their 
familiar manner Crooked Foot and the Rat, remained to 
nurse the white men. Under their care the apartment 
lately so desolate, and something between a sepulchre and 
a lazar-house, assumed a gladdened look, which had the 
best effect. The dead bodies were removed, the room 
cleaned of its filth and fragments of pounded bones, and 
large cheerful fires produced a sensation of comfort to 
which they had long been strangers. The poor sufferers 
had often cast a wishful eye on a pile of dried wood near 
the river, but were utterly unable to carry it up the bank. 
When pointed out to the Indians, they fetched it home 
with a rapidity which astonished their feeble friends. 
"They set about everything," says Franklin, "with an 

* Franklin's Journey, p. 467. 



1820.] GREAT KINDNESS OF THE INDIANS. 221 

activity which amazed us. Indeed, contrasted with our 
emaciated figures and extreme debility, their frames ap- 
peared to us gigantic, and their strength supernatural." 

Under the care of the Indians, and the blessing of 
wholesome and regular meals, the strength of the party 
was so far restored, that, although still feeble, on the 16th, 
after having united in prayer and thanksgiving to God for 
their deliverance, they left Fort Enterprise — a spot where, 
as they had formerly enjoyed much comfort if not happi- 
ness, they had latterly experienced a degree of misery 
scarcely to be paralleled.* The Indians treated them with 
unremitting kindness, gave them their own snow-shoes, 
and walked at their side to be ready to lift them up when 
they fell. In this manner they pushed forward to the 
abode of Akaitcho, the Indian chief, who welcomed them 
with the utmost hospitality. Soon after they received 
letters from their friends at Fort Providence, and the mes- 
senger also brought two trains of dogs, a package of spirits 
and tobacco for the Indians, and a supply of shirts and 
clothes for Captain Franklin and his companions. The 
gratification of changing their linen, which had been un- 
interruptedly worn ever since their departure from the 
sea- coast, is described as conveying an intensity of comfort 
to which no words can do justice. From this spot their 
progress to Fort Providence and thence to Montreal was 
prosperous and easy ; and thus terminated their long, fa- 
tiguing, and disastrous travels in North America, having 
journeyed by water and by land, including their navigation 
of the Polar Sea, 5550 miles. 

So disastrous had been the result of his first expedition, 
and so appalling the sufferings with which it was accom- 
panied, that nothing assuredly can convey a more honour- 

* Franklin's Journey, p. 470. 



222 franklin's second journey. [1823. 

able testimony to the enthusiastic zeal and unshaken per- 
severance of Captain Franklin, than the statement of the 
simple fact, that towards the close of 1823, having learnt 
the determination of government to make another attempt 
to effect a northern passage by sea between the Atlantic 
and Pacific Oceans, he, to use his own words, " ventured 
to lay before his Majesty's government a plan for an ex- 
pedition overland to the mouth of the Mackenzie River, 
and thence by sea to the north-western extremity of 
America, with the combined object also of surveying the 
coast between the Mackenzie and the Coppermine Rivers." 

It was the opinion of this able officer that, in the course 
he now proposed to follow, reverses similar to those which 
had surrounded his first journey were scarcely to be ap- 
prehended ; and his views having met the approbation of 
government, he received directions for the equipment of the 
expedition, and was nominated its commander. He had 
the satisfaction also of being once more accompanied by 
his valued friend Dr. Richardson, who, unappalled by his 
former dreadful sufferings, again offered his services as 
naturalist and surgeon, and volunteered to undertake the 
survey of the coast between the Mackenzie and Copper- 
mine Rivers, while Captain Franklin was occupied in an 
attempt to reach Icy Cape.* Previous to the departure of 
the ships, a correspondence was opened with the governor 
and directors of the Hudson's Bay Company, who trans- 
mitted injunctions to their officers in the fur-countries, to 
provide depots of provisions at the stations pointed out by 
Franklin. 

The building of proper boats for the navigation of the 
Arctic Sea, as well as the passage of the rapids between 
York Factory and Mackenzie River, formed the next 

* Franklin's Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the 
Polar Sea. Introductory Chapter, p. 10. 



1825.] HIS PREPARATIONS. 223 

object of attention. It was evident that the canoes o A 
birch-bark employed by Sir A. Mackenzie, and by Cap- 
tain Franklin in his first journey, though excellently 
adapted for the American rivers, uniting lightness and 
facility of repair with speed, were yet, from the tenderness 
of the bark, little fitted to resist the force of the arctic 
waves, or the collision of the sharp-pointed masses of ice. 
Captain Franklin accordingly obtained the Admiralty's 
permission to have three boats constructed at Woolwich 
under his own superintendence. aJ They were built," says 
he, " of mahogany, with timbers of ash, both ends exactly 
alike, and fitted to be steered either with a ship- oar or a 
rudder. The largest, being twenty- six feet long and five 
feet four inches broad, was adapted for six rowers, a steers- 
man, and an officer ; it was found to be capable of carrying 
three tons weight in addition to the crew, and could be 
transported with ease on the shoulders of six men. The 
two other boats were twenty-four feet in length, four feet 
ten inches broad, and held a crew of five men, besides a 
steersman and an officer, with an extra weight of two and 
a half tons. In addition to these, another little vessel was 
constructed at Woolwich, which reflected great credit upon 
its inventor, Lieutenant- Colonel Pasley of the Royal En- 
gineers. Its shape was exactly that of one of the valves 
of a walnut- shell, and it was framed of well- seasoned 
planks of ash, fastened together with thongs, and covered 
with Mackintosh's prepared caiwass. It weighed only 
eighty-five pounds, and when taken to pieces could be 
made up in five or six parcels, and again put together in 
less than twenty minutes, although it was nine feet long 
by four feet four inches in breadth."* Each person on 
board was provided with two suits of waterproof dresses, 

* Franklin's Second Journey, Intro. Chap. pp. 15, 18 



224 DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION. [1825. 

prepared by Mr. Mackintosh of Glasgow ; the guns, which 
were of the same bore as the fowling-pieces furnished by 
the Hudson's Bay Company to the Indian hunters, had 
their locks tempered to resist the cold — each being fitted 
with a broad Indian dagger similar to a bayonet, which, 
on being disjoined, could be used as a knife. Ammunition 
of the best quality, and a store of provisions sufficient for 
two years, were also supplied. 

The expedition sailed from Liverpool on 16th February 
1825, and after a favourable passage to New York, pro- 
ceeded to Albany, travelled through Utica, Rochester, and 
Geneva, crossed the Niagara and Lake Ontario, coasted 
the northern shore of Lake Superior, and thence pushed 
forward through Rainy Lake, the Lake of the Woods, Lake 
Winipeg, Saskatchawan River, and arrived at Cumberland 
House on 15th June. From this station, proceeding north- 
ward to Isle a la Crosse, and passing through Deep River 
and Clear and Buffalo Lakes, they overtook their boats in 
Methye River on the morning of 29 th June. The advanced 
period of the season rendered it impossible to embark on 
the Mackenzie before the middle of August, so that it be- 
came necessary to postpone the great expedition till the en- 
suing summer. They accordingly established their winter 
quarters on the banks, erecting a habitation and store, which 
they named Fort Franklin. The superintendence of these 
buildings was committed to Lieutenant Back, while Captain 
Franklin determined to descend the river, take a view of 
the state of the Polar Sea, and return to winter quarters 
before the extreme cold should set in. In this voyage 
there occurred nothing worthy of particular notice till the 
arrival at Whale Island, where, though Mackenzie had the 
strongest reasons to conclude that he had reached the sea, 
he appears not to have been completely satisfied on that 
point. Probably his doubts arose from the fresh taste of 



1825.] ARRIVAL AT WHALE ISLAND. 225 

the water. Franklin, however, proceeded beyond Whale 
Island, and reached the shore of the great Arctic Ocean. 
" Embarking," says he, " at eleven a.m., we continued our 
course along the shore of Ellice Island, until we found its 
coast trending southward of east. There we landed, and 
were rejoiced at the sea-like appearance to the northward. 
An island was now discovered to the north-east, looking 
blue from its distance, towards which the boat was im- 
mediately directed. The water, which for the last eight 
miles had been very shallow, became gradually deeper, and 
of a more green colour, though still fresh, even when we 
had entirely lost sight of the eastern land. In the middle 
of the traverse we were caught by a strong contrary wind, 
against which our crews cheerfully contended for five hours. 
Unwilling to return without attaining the object of our 
search, when the strength of the rowers was nearly 
exhausted the sails were set double-reefed, and our excellent 
boat mounted over the waves in a most buoyant manner, 
whilst an opportune alteration of the wind enabled us in the 
course of another hour to fetch into smoother water under 
the shelter of the island. We then pulled across a line of 
strong ripple, which marked the termination of the fresh 
water, that on the seaward side being brackish ; and in the 
farther progress of three miles to the island, we had the 
indescribable pleasure of finding the water decidedly salt. 
The sun was setting as the boat touched the beach ; we 
hastened to the most elevated part of the island, about two 
hundred and fifty feet high, to look around ; and never was 
a prospect more gratifying than that which lay open to us. 
The Rocky Mountains were seen from S.W. to W.JN., and 
from the latter point, round by the north, the sea appeared 
in all its majesty, entirely free from ice, and without any 
visible obstruction to its navigation. Many seals and black 
and white whales were seen sporting on its waves, and the 
P 



226 ACCURACY OF MACKENZIE. [1825. 

whole scene was calculated to excite in our minds the most 
flattering expectations of our own success and that of our 
friends in the Hecla and the Fury." * Franklin pronounces 
a high encomium on the accuracy of Mackenzie, and con- 
siders him as completely entitled to the praise of having 
reached the Arctic Sea, although, owing to the frail con- 
struction of the Indian canoes, it was impossible for him to 
sail to the point where the water became salt. 

Having accomplished his design in this preliminary 
journey, Franklin returned on 5th September to his winter 
quarters on Great Bear Lake. About the same time Dr. 
Richardson arrived from his excursion to the north-eastern 
shores of the same extensive sheet of water, having com- 
pleted his survey as far as the influx of Dease's River, and 
ascertained that the first rapid was the best point to which 
the eastern detachment of the expedition should direct its 
course on their return from the Coppermine in the follow- 
ing season. Meantime the people were so busily employed 
that time never hung heavy on their hands, and the shortest 
day came almost unexpectedly upon them. The Canadians 
and Indians were engaged in fishing and hunting for the 
support of the whole party, and during the autumn the 
nets yielded daily eight hundred fish of the kind called 
herring- salmon. Four Dog-rib Indians, along with the 
two interpreters, Augustus and Ooligbuck, were employed 
in hunting rein-deer, and the sailors were divided into 
different parties, to whom separate duties were allotted ; 
such as attending on the nets, bringing home the venison 
killed by the hunters, felling, carrying, and splitting wood, 
and exercising themselves in running as letter-carriers on 
snow-shoes between Fort Franklin and two other small 
posts established on the Mackenzie and Slave Lake. A 

* Franklin's Second Journey, p. 3 1-3G. 



1S25.] APPROACH OF SPRING. 227 

school also was opened, in which, during the long winter 
evenings, the officers instructed the sailors in reading, 
writing, and arithmetic ; and during the hours of relaxation 
the hall was given up to the men to divert themselves with 
any game they chose ; on which occasions they were 
always joined by the officers. Sunday was invariably a 
day of rest, and the whole party attended divine service 
morning and evening. Besides this, the officers had ample 
employment in noting down the thermometrical, magnetical, 
and atmospherical observations, in writing their journals, 
finishing their charts and drawings, and arranging the 
objects of natural history which had been collected.* They 
were amused by occasional visits of the Dog-rib Indians, 
and various other tribes ; and Christmas-day falling on a 
Sunday, they on the succeeding evening gave a dance and 
supper, which was attended by sixty persons, including 
savages. " Seldom," says Franklin, a in such a confined 
space as our hall, or amongst the same number of persons, 
was there a greater variety of character, or greater con- 
fusion of tongues. The party consisted of Englishmen, 
Highlanders (who mostly conversed with each other in 
Gaelic), Canadians (who spoke French), Esquimaux, Che- 
pewyans, Dog-ribs, Hare Indians, Cree women and children, 
all mingled together in perfect harmony, whilst the amuse- 
ments were varied by English, Gaelic, and French songs."-j- 
The spring now approached, and the migrator}'- animals, 
which observe with beautiful exactness their periods of 
departure and arrival, began to appear, gladdening the yet 
wintry face of nature. On 5th October the last swan had 
passed to the southward, and on the 11th the last brown 
duck was noticed. On 6th May the first swan was seen, 
and on the 8th the brown ducks reappeared on the lake. 

* Franklin's Second Journey, p. 54-56. t Ibid., p. 67. 



228 EMBARKATION ON THE MACKENZIE. [1826. 

The mosses began to sprout, and various singing birds and 
orioles, along with some swifts and white geese, arrived soon 
after. It is remarked by Dr. Richardson, that the singing 
birds, which were silent on the banks of the Bear Lake 
during the day, serenaded their mates at midnight; at 
which time, however, it was quite light. On 20th May 
the little stream which flowed past the fort burst its icy 
chains, and the laughing geese arrived to give renewed 
cheerfulness to the lake. Soon after this the winter green 
began to push forth its flowers ; and under the increasing 
warmth of the sun's rays the whole face of nature under- 
went a delightful change. The snow gradually melted, the 
ice broke up from the shores of the lake, the northern sky 
became red and luminous at midnight, the dwarf-birch and 
willows expanded their leaves, and by the 3d June the 
anemones, the tussilago, the Lapland rose, and other early 
plants, were in full flower.* 

Admonished by these pleasing changes, Captain Frank- 
lin prepared to set out, and on 15th June the equipments 
for the boats were completed. Fourteen men, including 
Augustus, the Esquimaux interpreter, accompanied the 
commander-in-chief and Lieutenant Back in the two larger 
boats, the Lion and the Reliance; whilst nine men, and 
Ooligbuck, another interpreter, attended Dr. Richardson 
and Mr. Kendall in the Dolphin and the Union. Spare 
blankets, and all that could be useful for the voyage, or 
as presents to the Esquimaux, were divided between the 
eastern and western parties. On the Sunday before their 
departure, the officers and men assembled at divine wor- 
ship, and, in addition to the usual service, the special pro- 
tection of the Almighty was implored lor the enterprise 
upon which they were about to be engaged. All was now 

* Richardson's Meteorological Tables. 



1826.] MOUTH OF THE MACKENZIE. 229 

ready, and on Tuesday, 28th June, they embarked upon 
the Mackenzie, with the navigation of which the reader is 
already familiar. On the 4th July they reached that part 
where the river divides into various channels, and the 
two parties had determined to pursue different directions. 
The expedition which was to follow the western branch, 
commanded by Captain Franklin, embarked first, at Dr. 
Richardson's desire, with a salute of three hearty cheers 
from their companions ; and as they dropt down the river 
and passed round a point of land, they perceived their 
friends who were to follow the eastern branch employed in 
the bustle of embarkation. All were in high spirits, and 
it was impossible not to contrast their present complete 
state of equipment with the circumstances of their first 
disastrous journey. 

On reaching the mouth of the Mackenzie, the western 
expedition came almost immediately into contact with the 
Esquimaux. Captain Franklin observed an encampment 
upon a neighbouring island, and instantly proceeded to open 
a communication. A selection of presents was made, and 
at the same time every man was directed to have his gun 
ready for use. Having adopted these precautions, they 
steered direct for the island with their ensigns flying. The 
boats touched ground when about a mile from the beach. 
Signs were made to the Esquimaux to come off, and the 
English pulled back a little to await their arrival in deeper 
water. Three canoes, each carrying only a single person, 
pushed off, and these were followed rapidly by others; so 
that in a few minutes the whole space between the boats 
and the shore was alive with those little vessels which they 
name kayaks. An attempt was at first made to count 
them, and the sailors got the length of seventy; but they 
increased in such quick succession as to baffle their farther 
efforts. 



230 ESQUIMAUX. [1826. 

At first everything proceeded in a friendly manner. 
Augustus, after delivering a present, informed them, that 
if the English succeeded in finding a navigable channel for 
large ships, an advantageous trade would be opened. This 
intimation was received with a deafening shout, and the 
sight of the presents which had been carried away by the 
three foremost kayaks inflamed the cupidity of their com- 
panions ; so that the boats were in a moment surrounded 
by nearly three hundred persons, offering for sale their 
bows, arrows, and spears, with a violence and perseverance 
which became at last exceedingly troublesome, and Captain 
Franklin directed the boats to be put to seaward. At this 
moment a kayak was upset by one of the oars of the Lion, 
and its unhappy possessor was stuck by the accident with 
his head in the mud, and his heels in the air. He was 
instantly extricated, wrapt in a warm great -coat, and 
placed in the boat, where, although at first excessively 
frightened and angry, he soon became reconciled to his 
situation, and looking about, discovered many bales and 
other articles which had hitherto been carefully concealed. 
His first impulse was to ask for everything he saw, his 
next to be indignant that his requests were not granted ; 
and on joining his companions, as they afterwards learned, 
he harangued on the inexhaustible riches of the Lion, and 
proposed a plan for a general attack and pillage of both the 
boats. This scheme was immediately carried into execu- 
tion; and although the plunderers at first affected to be 
partly in sport, matters soon assumed a serious complexion. 
Two of the most powerful men, leaping on board, seized 
Captain Franklin, forced him to sit between them, and 
when he shook them off, a third took his station in front to 
catch his arm whenever he attempted to raise his gun or 
lay his hand on the broad dagger which hung by his side. 
During this assault the two boats were violently dragged to 



1826.] VIOLENT CONDUCT OF THE ESQUIMAUX. 231 

the shore, and a numerous party, stripping to the waist and 
brandishing their long sharp knives, ran to the Reliance, 
and commenced a regular pillage, handing the articles to 
the women, who, ranged in a row behind, quickly conveyed 
them out of sight. No sooner was the bow cleared of one 
set of marauders, than another party commenced their 
operations at the stern. The Lion was beset by smaller 
numbers, and her crew, by firmly keeping their seats on 
the canvass cover spread over the cargo, and beating off 
the natives with the butt-end of their muskets, succeeded 
in preventing any article of importance from being carried 
away. Irritated, at length, by their frequent failure, the 
Esquimaux made a simultaneous charge, and, leaping on 
board, began to wrest the daggers and shot-belts from the 
sailors, and to strike with their knives. In the midst of 
this attack, when the crew in the Lion were nearly over- 
powered, and their commander disarmed, all at once the 
natives took to their heels, and concealed themselves 
behind the drift timber and canoes on the beach. This 
sudden panic was occasioned by Captain Back, whose boat 
at this time had been got afloat, commanding his crew to 
level their muskets — a proceeding which was immediately 
observed by the Esquimaux, though not noticed by Captain 
Franklin's men, who were wholly occupied in defending 
themselves. The Lion happily floated soon after; and as 
both boats pulled off, Captain Franklin desired Augustus 
to inform some of the Esquimaux, who manifested a dispo- 
sition to follow and renew the attack, that he would shoot 
the first man who ventured to approach within musket- 
range.* 

In the evening, Augustus anxiously entreated permission 
to attend a conference of his countrymen on the shore, to 

* Franklin's Second Journey, p. 101-107. 



232 SPEECH OF AUGUSTUS. [1826. 

which he had been formally invited. The courage and 
fidelity of this person had much endeared him to the 
English, and it was not without hesitation that Captain 
Franklin agreed to his request, as he stated his determina- 
tion to reprove the natives for their disgraceful conduct. 
He was at length allowed to go, and by the time he 
reached the shore the number of Esquimaux amounted to 
forty, all of them armed. On landing, he walked un- 
dauntedly into the middle of the assembly, and addressed 
them in the following animated speech, which he afterwards 
repeated to his English friends : — " Your conduct," said 
he, " has been very bad, and unlike all other Esquimaux. 
Some of you even stole from me, your countryman; but 
that I do not mind. I only regret that you should have 
treated in this violent manner the white people, who came 
solely to do you kindness. My tribe were in the same 
unhappy state in which you now are before the white people 
came to Churchill ; but at present they are supplied with 
everything they need ; and you see that I am well clothed, 
I get everything I want, and am very comfortable. You 
cannot expect, after the transactions of this day, that these 
people will ever bring any articles to your country again, 
unless you show your contrition by returning the stolen 
goods. The white people love the Esquimaux, and wish to 
show them the same kindness that they bestow upon the 
Indians. Do not deceive yourselves, and suppose that they 
are afraid of you ; I tell you they are not, and that it is 
entirely owing to their humanity that many of you were 
not killed to-day, for they have all guns with which they 
can destroy you either near or at a distance. I also have 
a gun, and can assure you that if a white man had fallen, 
I would have been the first to have revenged his death." 
During this speech, which was delivered, as they perceived 
from the boats, with much energy and spirited gesticula- 



1826.] CONTINUANCE OP THE VOYAGE. 233 

tion, the Esquimaux expressed their approbation by frequent 
shouts, and on its conclusion made a very penitent, though 
somewhat singular apology: " They had never seen white 
men before," they said, " and really all the things in the 
boats were so beautiful and desirable that it was impossible 
not to steal them. As they were very anxious, however, 
for the friendship and trade of the white men, they 
solemnly promised never to repeat such conduct, and, at 
the request of Augustus, sent back the large kettle, the 
tent, and some pairs of shoes which they had carried off." * 
The interpreter was afterwards invited to a dance, and a 
friendly understanding seemed to be established; but Cap- 
tain Franklin soon discovered that the professions of the 
natives were hollow and treacherous, and nothing but his 
jealous precautions saved him and his companions from 
massacre, in which it had been resolved to include the 
faithful Augustus. 

Their voyage along the coast in the direction of west- 
north-west, after a progress of twelve miles, was impeded 
by the ice stretching from the shore far to seaward. The 
boats were in consequence hauled up; and as the frozen 
masses were piled round to the height of thirty feet, it 
became necessary to await the breaking up of this formid- 
able barrier. Having gone to sleep, the officers were startled 
at midnight by the guard calling to arms : Three Esqui- 
maux, belonging to a larger party encamped at some dis- 
tance, had stolen forward, and been only discovered when 
close at hand. Alarmed at the appearance of the men, 
who stood to their arms, the strangers were on the point of 
discharging their arrows, when they were arrested by the 
loud voice of Augustus, who explained the object of the 
expedition, and dilated upon the advantages which they 



* Franklin's Second Journey, pp. 108, 109. 



234 FRIENDLY ESQUIMAUX : [1826. 

would derive from it. A present confirmed his statement, 
and an amicable intercourse was opened— a line, however, 
being first drawn at a certain distance from the tents, across 
which no Esquimaux was to pass, under the penalty of 
being instantly shot. Against this they made no remon- 
strance, only remarking, when informed of the treacherous 
conduct of the natives at the mouth of Mackenzie River, 
that " these were bad men, altogether different from them, 
and never failed either to steal or quarrel whenever an 
opportunity was offered." The delight exhibited by these 
people, including the most elderly among them, on receiving 
any little present, was exactly similar to that of children 
when they get hold of toys. They ran from one thing to 
another; examined with restless curiosity every part of 
Augustus' dress, who, to gratify his vanity, had put on his 
gayest apparel; and, ignorant of the uses of the articles 
presented to them, they walked about with cod-fish hooks 
and c./vls dangling from the nose, and copper thimbles 
strung to their trousers or rein-deer jackets. The men were 
robust, and taller than those seen on the east coast by 
Captain Parry, though their manner of life appeared to be 
nearly the same. With the broad nose and small eyes, 
which peculiarly distinguish the whole Esquimaux tribes, 
they had the cheekbones less projecting than those of the 
eastern coast. From a constant exposure to the glare of 
the ice and snow, the whole party were afflicted with sore 
eyes, and two of the old men seemed nearly blind. They 
wore the hair on the upper lip and chin, and every man 
had pieces of bone or shells thrust through the septum of 
the nose, whilst holes were pierced on each side of the under 
lip, in which were placed circular pieces of ivory with a 
large blue bead in the centre — ornaments which they 
valued highly, and declined selling. Their clothes con- 
sisted of a jacket of rein-deer skin. Avith a skirt behind and 



1826.] THEIR DEESS AND MANNERS. 235 

before, and a small hood ; breeches of the same material, 
and large seal-skin boots. The dress of the females differed 
from that of the men only in their wearing wide trousers, 
and in the size of their hoods, which did not fit close to the 
head, but were made large for the purpose of receiving their 
children : these were ornamented with stripes of different 
coloured skins, and round the top was fastened a band of 
wolf's hair, made to stand erect. The women were from 
four feet and a half to four feet three quarters high, and 
some of the younger, though too corpulent, were pretty; 
their black hair was tastefully turned up from behind to the 
top of the head, and braided with strings of white and blue 
beads and cords of white deer-skin. Both men and women 
were much pleased by having their portraits sketched by 
Captain Back; and one young lady, who sat for a full- 
length, and chose the extraordinary attitude of stuffing both 
hands into her breeches-pockets, interrupted the labours of 
the draughtsman by repeatedly jumping into the air, and 
smiling in a very ludicrous and irresistible manner. The 
men were armed with bows and arrows, long knives, which 
they concealed in the shirt-sleeve, and spears tipped with 
bone.* 

The Esquimaux had predicted, that as soon as a strong 
wind began to blow from the land it would loosen the ice ; 
and on 12th July a heavy rain with a pretty high gale set 
in, and opened up a passage. The boats accordingly were 
launched; and, passing a wide bay named by the com- 
mander after his friends Captains Sabine and King, they 
were suddenly arrested by a compact body of ice, and en- 
veloped at the same time in a dense fog. On attempting to 
pull back for the purpose of landing, they discovered that 
the ice had closed between them and the shore. In this 

* Franklin's Second Journey, pp. 118, 119. 



236 POINTS SABINE AND KAY. [182G. 

situation only one alternative was left, which was to pull 
to seaward and trace the outer border of the ice. This they 
at last effected ; though a sudden change of wind brought 
on a heavy swell, and surrounded them with floating masses 
of ice, which threatened to crush the boats to pieces. They 
succeeded, however, after five hours employed in pulling in 
and out between these floating icebergs, in reaching the 
shore and landing a little to the west of Point Sabine. After 
a detention of two days they proceeded as far as Point Kay ; 
but being here again impeded by a compact body of ice, 
which extended to seaward as far as the eye could reach, 
they were obliged to encamp and wait patiently for the first 
strong breeze from the land. 

The time of their sojourn in these arctic solitudes was 
pleasantly occupied in making astronomical observations, 
collecting specimens of the plants in flower, sketching 
scenery, and completing charts of the coast. Augustus 
went in search of his countrymen, and returned at night 
with a young Esquimaux and his wife, who, after a few 
presents, became loquacious, and informed them that the 
ice would soon break up. Symptoms of this desirable 
change were accordingly observed next day, and with great 
labour they reached Herschel Island. At the moment they 
made the shore a herd of rein-deer came bounding down to 
the beach, pursued by three Esquimaux hunters, and imme- 
diately took the water, whilst the natives, startled at sight 
of the strangers, gazed for a moment, consulted amongst 
themselves, changed the heads of their arrows, and prepared 
their bows. Their hostile intentions, however, were laid 
aside when they were addressed by Augustus ; and in the 
evening a large party arrived, bringing dried meat, fish, 
and game, for which they received presents in exchange, 
which set them singing and dancing round the encampment 
for the greater part of the night. 



1826.] HERSCHEL ISLAND. 237 

From these people was collected some curious informa- 
tion. They stated that they procured beads, knives, and 
iron, principally from Esquimaux residing far away to the 
west, and also from Indians who came annually from the 
interior by a river directly opposite the encampment, to 
which Captain Franklin gave the name of Mountain Indian 
River.* Whence the Indians or the Esquimaux obtained 
these goods they could not tell, but supposed it was from 
Kabloonacht or white men, at a great distance to the west. 
The articles were not of British manufacture, from which 
Captain Franklin concluded that the Kabloonacht must be 
the Russian fur-traders. 

It was with great difficulty that the boats made even a 
short distance from Herschel Island. The ice repeatedly 
closed in upon them, leaving only a narrow channel, often 
too shallow to float the boats; and dense fogs now became 
frequent, rendering their navigation peculiarly hazardous. 
These dreary curtains hanging over the ice gave it the 
appearance of water, and exposed them to the danger of 
being shut in by an impenetrable barrier when they ex- 
pected an open sea. They continued their course, however, 
till they came abreast of Mount Conybeare, when they 
encamped, and crossing a swampy level, ascended to the 
summit, from which they enjoyed a striking view into the 
interior. Three noble ranges of mountains were seen 
parallel to the Buckland chain, but of less altitude, whilst 
the prospect was bounded by a fourth range, mingling their 
pyramidal summits with the clouds, and covered with snow. 
From this last encampment their advance was extremely 
slow. The boats were pushed forward through small lanes, 
the utmost vigilance being necessary to prevent their being 
entirely shut in, as a few hours often made essential 



* Franklin's Second Journey, pp. 130, 131. 



238 DENSE FOGS. [1826. 

changes, and their frail craft could only be saved by being 
frequently hauled upon the beach. The calm weather also 
retarded them, and they earnestly longed for a strong gale 
to break up the compacted fields of ice, and permit them to 
continue their voyage. 

After a detention of some days their wishes seemed about 
to be gratified. At midnight, on the 25th July, a strong 
south-westerly breeze sprung up, accompanied by thunder 
and lightning; but in the morning an impenetrable fog 
hung over the sea. On the land side the prospect was 
equally dreary ; an extensive swamp, in which they sunk 
ankle- deep at every step, prevented any excursions into the 
interior, and the clouds of mosquitoes which for ever buzzed 
around them kept them in a perpetual irritation. At length, 
however, the fog dispersed, disclosing an open lane of 
water about half a mile from shore; following its course 
for eight miles, they came to the mouth of a wide river, 
which had its rise in the British range of mountains. Its 
course approached near the line of demarcation between the 
American dominions of Great Britain and Russia, and Cap- 
tain Franklin named it the Clarence River, after his present 
Majesty, then Lord High Admiral. On the most elevated 
part of the coast near its mouth they erected a pile of drift 
wood, under which was deposited a tin box, containing a 
royal silver medal, and an account of the proceedings of 
the expedition; after which the Union flag was hoisted 
with three hearty cheers. 

They now continued their voyage, though often beset by 
ice and interrupted by fogs ; and passing the boundary be- 
tween Russian and British America, descried an encamp- 
ment of natives on a low island, surrounded by many 
oomiaks and kayaks guarded by Esquimaux dogs, whilst 
their masters were fast asleep in the tents. The inter- 
preter being despatched to rouse them, a singular scene 



1826.] 



MOUNT COPLESTON. 239 



took place. At his first call a little squabby woman rushed 
out in a state of perfect nudity, uttered a loud yell, and 
instantly ran back again to rouse her husband, who, shout- 
ing out that strangers were at hand, awoke the whole band. 
In a moment all seized their arms, and without waiting to 
put on their deer-skin breeches or jackets, swarmed out 
upon the beach, which in an instant was covered with fifty- 
four grown-up persons, completely naked, very outrageous, 
dirty, and ugly. A short parley quieted their fears, an 
interchange of presents took place, and the boats crossed 
Camden Bay, having in view the noble range of the Roman- 
zoff Mountains, whose peaks were covered with snow. 

Soon after they arrived at the mouth of a river, which 
discharged into the sea so great a volume of water, that 
even three miles from land the taste was perfectly fresh; 
and having reached latitude 70° 7', farther progress was 
prevented by ice closely packed on the outer border of a 
reef, and they discovered that the great chain of the Rocky 
Mountains either terminated abreast of their present situa- 
tion, or receded so far to the southward as to f^de away in 
the distance. During their detention, Captain Back, to 
whose pencil we are indebted for many admirable drawings 
of arctic scenery, made a sketch of the most western moun- 
tain, which they named Mount Copleston.* Various cir- 
cumstances now warned them that much farther progress 
along this inhospitable coast was impracticable. The fogs 
became more frequent and perilous, the water was often 
so shallow that even at two miles from shore the boats 
grounded, and on getting into deeper soundings, the re- 
peated shocks received from masses of floating ice severely 
injured their timbers, especially those of the Lion, which 
was very leaky. Still they struggled on from Flaxman 

* Franklin's Second Journey, p. 150. 



240 ILLUSIONS OF THE FOG. [1826. 

Island along a low desolate shore, rendered more dreary 
by the stormy weather, till on the 1 0th a gale brought 
along with it a thick fog, and they hauled up the boats, 
encamping on a low spot, which they named Foggy Island. 
Here they kindled fires, dried their clothes, which were 
completely wet with the moisture of the atmosphere, and 
amused themselves in their murky prison by proceeding in 
search of rein-deer. The fog caused frequent and some- 
times ludicrous mistakes; and on one occasion, after the 
men had spent a long time in stealing upon some deer, and 
were congratulating themselves on coming within shot, to 
their amazement the animals took wing and disappeared in 
the fog, with a scream and cackle which at once declared 
their genus, and seemed to deride the credulity of their 
pursuers. u We witnessed with regret," says Captain 
Franklin, " in these short rambles, the havoc which this 
dreary weather made among the flowers. Many which had 
been blooming upon our arrival were now lying prostrate 
and withered, and these symptoms of decay could not fail 
painfully to remind us that the term of our operations was 
fast approaching. Often at this time did every one express 
a wish that we had some decked vessel, in which the pro- 
visions could be secured from the injury of salt water, and 
the crew sheltered when they required rest, that we might 
quit this shallow coast and steer at once towards ley Cape."* 
So frequently did they attempt to fulfil this desire, and so 
perpetually were they driven back by the fog closing in 
upon them, that the sailors declared the island was enchanted. 
Indeed, to a superstitious mind, the appearances furnished 
some ground for believing it. The fog would often dis- 
perse, and permit a short glimpse of a point about three 
miles distant, bearing north-west by west; in a moment 

* Franklin's Second Journey, p. 154. 



1S26.] DIFFICULTIES. 241 

every hand was at work, the boats were launched, the crews 
embarked ; but before they could be dragged into deep 
water, the spirit of the mist once more drew his impene- 
trable curtain round them, and after resting a while on their 
oars, they were compelled to pull back to their old quar- 
ters. Scarcely had they kindled a fire and begun to dry 
their clothes, soaked with wading over the flats, when the 
fog again opened, the boats were launched, and the desired 
point almost gained; but their tormentor once more enve- 
loped earth and ocean in a thicker gloom than before. 
" Fog is, of all others," says Captain Franklin, "the most 
hazardous state of the atmosphere for navigation in an icy 
sea, especially where it is accompanied by strong breezes ; 
but particularly so for boats where the shore is unapproach- 
able. If caught by a gale, a heavy swell, or drifting ice, 
the result must be their wreck, or the throwing their provi- 
sions overboard, to lighten them so as to proceed in shoal 
water. Many large pieces of ice were seen on the border 
of the shallow water, and from the lowness of the tempera- 
ture we concluded that the main body was at no great dis- 
tance."* 

The nights were now lengthening ; the grasses and the 
whole aspect of the vegetation was autumnal; their stores 
of drift-wood had been so much drawn upon, that though 
the tents were wet through, and they were for warmth 
obliged to wrap their feet in blankets, no fire was allowed 
except to cook the victuals. The provisions were barely 
sufficient for the support of the party on their return, whilst 
the frequency of the fogs, the shallowness which prevented 
the boats from floating, the heavy swell, that, as the wind 
freshened, rose upon the flats, compelled them to haul 
farther from land ; and the danger which in doing so they 

* Franklin's Second Journey, p. 156. 



242 APPROACH OF WINTER. [1826. 

necessarily incurred from the drift-ice, formed an accumu- 
lation of difficulties which rendered their progress from 
Point Anxiety across Prudhoe Bay to Return Reef the 
most discouraging and painful part of the whole voyage. 
It was now the 16th of August, and the boats, though the 
exertions of the crews had been unwearied, were only half- 
way between the mouth of Mackenzie River and Icy Cape. 
The young ice had already begun to form at night on the 
pools of fresh water, and the mind of the commander re- 
curred naturally and wisely to his former experience. He 
recollected that only one day later, and in a latitude two 
degrees more southerly, he had in his first voyage encoun- 
tered severe storms of wind and snow, and that in another 
fortnight the winter would set in with all its horrors. 
Already the sun began to sink below the horizon, and with 
this change the mean temperature of the atmosphere rapidly 
decreased; the deer were hastening from the coast; the 
Esquimaux had ceased to appear; no winter houses gave 
indications that this remote coast was inhabited; and the 
autumnal parties of geese hourly winging their flight to the 
westward, indicated that winter had already surprised them 
in their polar solitudes. It had been Franklin's great 
object to double Icy Cape, and meet the expedition under 
Captain Beechy in Kotzebue's Inlet; but from the distance 
and the advanced season this was now impracticable. On 
the other hand, his instructions directed him, "if, incon- 
sequence of slow progress, or other unforeseen accident, it 
should remain doubtful whether the expedition should be 
able to reach Kotzebue's Inlet the same season, to com- 
mence their return on the 15th or 20th of August." To 
relinquish the great object of his ambition, and to disap- 
point the confidence reposed in his exertions, was a sacri- 
fice which cost him no ordinary pain; and had he been 
then aware of the fact (with which the reader will be 



1826.] EASTERN EXPEDITION. 243 

immediately acquainted) that the barge of the Blossom was 
at that moment only one hundred and forty- six miles dis- 
tant, we have his own authority for stating that no difficul- 
ties or dangers would have prevailed on him to return ; but 
under the circumstances in which he was placed, to make 
any farther effort in advance was incompatible with the 
higher duties which he owed to his officers and crew. After 
a mature consideration of everything, he formed the reluc- 
tant conclusion that they had reached the point where per- 
severance would have been rashness, and their best efforts 
must have only led to a more calamitous failure.* It was 
resolved therefore to return; and on the morning of the 
18th August they began their retreat to the Mackenzie 
River, which, without any material danger, with the excep- 
tion of a severe gale encountered off Point Kay, they re- 
gained on the 4th of September. Thence they proceeded 
to Fort Franklin, where they met Dr. Richardson, Mr. Ken- 
dall, and their friends of the eastern expedition, who, after 
a prosperous and interesting voyage to the mouth of the 
Coppermine, had returned to the Fort on the 1 st September. 
Of this interesting journey our limits will only permit 
a very cursory glance. Fortunately for the eastern expe- 
dition, the coast between the mouths of the Mackenzie and 
the Coppermine Rivers presented none of those serious 
obstacles which at every step were starting up in the dreary 
and protracted route of the western party; and they con- 
sequently accomplished a voyage of about five hundred 
miles between the 4th of July and 8th of August. It was 
eminently successful in the accurate survey of this hitherto 
unexplored coast, but unvaried by any remarkable incidents. 
The Esquimaux on various parts of the coast were more 
numerous, pacific, comfortable, and wealthy, than the 



* Franklin's Second Journey, pp. 161, 162, 165. 



244 ESQUIMAUX TOWN. [1826. 

western tribes; but their civilization had not eradicated 
the propensities for thieving. On one occasion the boats 
were surrounded by a fleet of about fifty kayaks, and an 
attack w r as made exactly similar to that upon Franklin; 
but though the object was the same, it was pursued with 
less vigour, and the moment the sailors levelled their 
muskets the whole party dispersed with precipitation. 

On arriving at Atkinson Island they discovered, under 
shelter of a chain of sand-hills drifted by the wind to the 
height of thirty feet, a small Esquimaux town, consisting 
of seventeen winter houses, besides a larger building, which 
Dr. Richardson at first conjectured to be a house of assembly 
for the tribe. Ooligbuck the interpreter, however, whose 
ideas were more gross and commonplace, pronounced it to 
be a general eating-room. " This large building," says 
Dr. Richardson, " was in the interior a square of twenty- 
seven feet, having the log roof supported on two strong- 
ridge-poles two feet apart, and resting on four upright 
posts. The floor in the centre formed of split logs, dressed 
and laid with great care, was surrounded by a raised border 
about three feet wide, which was no doubt meant for seats. 
The walls, three feet high, were inclined outwards, for the 
convenience of leaning the back against them, and the 
ascent to the door, which was on the south side, was formed 
of logs. The outside, which was covered with earth, had 
nearly a hemispherical form, and round its base were ranged 
the skulls of twenty-one whales. There was a square hole 
in the roof, and the central log of the floor had a basin- 
shaped cavity one foot in diameter, which was perhaps 
intended for a lamp. The general attention to comfort in 
the construction of the village, and the erection of a building 
of such magnitude, requiring a union of purpose in a con- 
siderable number of people, were evidences of a more 
advanced progress towards civilization than had yet been 



1826.] DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIVES.! 245 

found amongst the E squimaux. Whale-skulls were confined 
to the large building, and to one of the dwelling-houses, 
which had three or four placed round it. Many wooden 
trays and hand-barrows for carrying whale-blubber were 
lying on the ground, most of them in a state of decay."* 

On making the traverse of Harrowby Bay, land was 
seen round the bottom ; and on nearing shore twelve tents 
were distinguished on an adjoining eminence. When the 
boats appeared, a woman who was walking along the beach 
gave the alarm, and the men rushed out, brandishing their 
knives, and employing the most furious expressions. In 
vain Ooligbuck endeavoured to calm their apprehensions, 
explaining that the strangers were friends; they only 
replied by shouts, leaps, or hideous grimaces, intended 
to inspire terror, and displayed great agility, frequently 
standing on one foot and throwing the other nearly as high 
as their head. Dr. Richardson, nothing intimidated by these 
gesticulations, bethought himself of enouncing, at the 
highest key he could reach, the word "Noowcerlawgo," 
meaning, " I wish to barter," and the sound operated like 
a spell. The savages instantly became quiet ; one of them 
ran to his kayak, paddled off to the boats, and was followed 
by crowds, who fearlessly came alongside, readily exchang- 
ing bows, arrows, spears, and dressed seal-skins, for bits of 
old iron-hoop, files, and beads. " The females," says 
Richardson, " unlike those of the Indian tribes, had much 
handsomer features than the men; and one young woman 
of the party would have been deemed pretty even in Europe. 
Our presents seemed to render them perfectly happy, and 
they danced with such ecstacy in their slender boats as to 
incur more than once great hazard of being overset. A 
bundle of strings of beads being thrown into an oomiak, it 

* Franklin's Second Journey, p. 217. 



246 THE COPPERMINE RIVER. [1826. 

was caught by an old woman, who hugged the treasure to 
her breast with the strongest expression of rapture; while 
another elderly dame, who had stretched out her arms in 
vain, became the very picture of despair. On its being 
explained, however, that the present was intended for the 
whole party, an amicable division took place; and to show 
their gratitude, they sang a song to a pleasing air, keeping 
time with their oars. They gave us many pressing invita- 
tions to pass the night at their tents, in which they were 
joined by the men ; and to excite our liberality, the mothers 
drew their children out of their wide boots, where they are 
accustomed to carry them naked, and holding them up, 
begged beads for them. For a time their entreaties were 
successful; but being desirous of getting clear of our visiters 
before breakfast- time, we at length told them the stock was 
exhausted, and they took leave."* 

The voyage, owing to the clear atmosphere, the unen- 
cumbered state of the coast, and the abundant supply of 
provisions, was pursued with ease and comfort; and on 8th 
August having made a bold cape, rising precipitously from 
the sea to the height of three hundred and fifty feet, Dr. 
Richardson and Mr. Kendall climbed the promontory, and 
descried in the distance the gap in the hills at Bloody Fall, 
through which the Coppermine holds its course. Delighted 
with the prospect of so near a termination of their labours, 
they communicated the intelligence to the crew, who re- 
ceived it with expressions of profound gratitude to the 
Divine Being for his protection during the voyage. On 
reaching the river the men were in excellent condition, 
fresh and vigorous for the march across the barren grounds 
on their return to Fort Franklin, which, as already men- 
tioned, they reached in safety on the 1st of September. 

* Franklin's Second Journey, p. 226. 



1826.] RETURN TO FORT FRANKLIN. 247 

On approaching within a few days' journey of the fort, a 
pleasant adventure occurred, characteristic of Indian grati- 
tude and friendship. The party had supped, and most of 
the men were retired to rest, when Mr. Kendall, in sweep- 
ing the horizon with his telescope, descried three Indians 
coming down a hill towards the encampment. More moss 
was thrown on the fire, and the St. George's ensign hoisted 
on the end of a musket, to show the comers that they were 
approaching friends; but they hid the youngest of their 
number in a ravine, and approached slowly and with sus- 
picion. Mr. Kendall and Dr. Richardson immediately 
went unarmed to meet them, and as they came up one held 
his bow and arrows ready in his hand, and the other cocked 
his gun; but as soon as they recognised the doctor's dress, 
the same he had worn the preceding autumn in his voyage 
round Bear Lake, and which was familiar to most of the 
Hare Indians, they shouted in an ecstacy of joy, shook 
hands most cordially, and called loudly for the young lad 
whom they had hid to come up. " The meeting," says Dr. 
Richardson, " was highly gratifying to ourselves as well as 
to the kind natives ; for they seemed to be friends come to 
rejoice with us on the happy termination of our voyage/'* 
It had naturally occurred to government, that if the 
expeditions under Captains Parry and Franklin should be 
successful, their stores would be exhausted by the time 
they reached Behring's Strait. It was certain also that 
Franklin would be destitute of any means of conveyance to 
Europe; and to supply these wants, government resolved 
that a vessel should be sent out to await their arrival in 
Behring's Strait. For this purpose, accordingly, Captain 
F. W. Beechey sailed in the Blossom from Spithead on 
the 19th May 1825. The vessel was a twenty-six gun 

* Franklin's Second Journey, p. 274. 



248 beechey's voyage. [1825. 

ship; but on this occasion mounted only sixteen. She 
was partially strengthened, and adapted to this peculiar 
service by increasing her stowage. A boat was also sup- 
plied to be used as a tender, built as large as the space on 
deck would allow, schooner-rigged, decked, and fitted up 
in the most complete manner. Cloth, beads, cutlery, and 
various other articles of traffic, were put on board, and a 
variety of anti- scorbutics were added to the usual allowance 
of provision. Aware that he must traverse a large portion 
of the globe hitherto little explored, and that a consider- 
able period would elapse before his presence was required 
on the coast of America, Captain Beechey was instructed 
to survey the parts of the Pacific within his reach, of which 
it was important to navigators that a more correct delinea- 
tion should be laid down. These observations were not, 
however, to retard his arrival at the appointed rendezvous 
later than the 10th of July 1826; and he was directed to 
remain at Behring's Strait to the end of October, or to as 
late a period as the season would admit, without incurring 
the risk of spending the winter there. During this interval 
he was to navigate from Kotzebue's Sound northward, and 
afterwards to continue in an easterly course along the main 
shore as far as the ice would allow. Captain Beechey's 
survey of various portions of the Pacific does not fall within 
the plan of thi3 work. 

On the 2d of June, having left the Sandwich Isles, he 
shaped his course for Kamtschatka, and on the 27th was 
becalmed within six miles of Petropalauski. The best 
guides to this harbour are a range of high mountains, on 
one of which, upwards of eleven thousand feet in height, 
a volcano is in constant action. It was a serene and beau- 
tiful evening when they approached this remote quarter of 
the world, and all were struck with the magnificence of the 
mountains capped with perennial snow, and rising in solemn 



1826.] STILL NIGHT IN THE AECTIC REGIONS. 249 

grandeur one above the other. At intervals the volcano 
emitted dark columns of smoke ; and from a sprinkling of 
black spots upon the snow to the leeward it was conjectured 
there had been a recent eruption. From Petropalauski 
Captain Beechy sailed on the 1st of July for Kotzebue's 
Sound. " We approached/' says he, " the strait which 
separates the two great continents of Asia and America, 
on one of those beautiful still nights well known to all who 
have visited the arctic regions, when the sky is without a 
cloud, and when the midnight sun, scarcely his own dia- 
meter below the horizon, tinges with a bright hue all the 
northern circle. Our ship, propelled by an increasing 
breeze, glided rapidly along a smooth sea, startling from 
her path flocks of aquatic birds, whose flight, in the deep 
silence of the scene, could be traced by the ear to a great 
distance." Having closed in with the American shore 
some miles northward of Cape Prince of Wales, they were 
visited by a little Esquimaux squadron belonging to a vil- 
lage situated on a low sandy island. The natives readily 
sold everything they possessed, and were cheerful and 
good-humoured, though exceedingly noisy and energetic. 
Their bows were more slender than those of the islanders 
to the southward, but made on the same principle, with 
drift-pine, assisted with thongs of hide, or pieces of whale- 
bone placed at the back, and neatly bound with small cord. 
The points of their arrows were of bone, flint, or iron, and 
their spears headed with the same materials. Their dress 
was similar to that of the other tribes on the coast. It con- 
sisted of a shirt, which reached half-way down the thigh, 
with long sleeves, and a hood of rein-deer skin, and edged 
with gray or white fox fur. Besides this they had a jacket 
of eider-drake skins sewed together, which, when engaged 
in war, they wore below their other dress, reckoning it a 
tolerably efficient protection against an arrow or a spear- 



250 LUDICROUS APPEARANCE OF THE NATIVES. [1826. 

thrust. In wet weather they threw over the fur dress a 
shirt made of the entrails of the whale, which, being well 
saturated with oil and grease, was water-tight ; and they 
also used breeches of deer's hide, and seal-skin boots, to 
the upper end of which were fixed strings of sea-horse hide. 
It was their fashion to tie one of these strings round the 
waist, and attach to it a long tuft of hair, the wing of a 
bird, or sometimes a fox's tail, which, dangling behind as 
they walked, gave them a ridiculous appearance, and may 
probably have occasioned the report of the Tschuktschi re- 
corded in Muller, that the people of this country have tails 
like dogs.* 

On the 2 2d July the ship anchored in Kotzebue's Sound, 
and after exploring a deep inlet on its northern shore, which 
they named Hotham Inlet, proceeded to Chamisso Island, 
where the Blossom was to await Captain Franklin. A dis- 
cretionary power had, however, been permitted to Captain 
Beechey, of employing the period of his stay in surveying 
the coast, provided this could be done without the risk ot 
missing Captain Franklin. Having accordingly directed 
the barge to keep in- shore on the look-out for the land- 
party, he sailed to the northward, and doubling Cape Kru- 
senstern, completed an examination of the coast by Cape 
Thomson, Point Hope, Cape Lisborn, Cape Beaufort, and 
Icy Cape, the farthest point reached by Captain Cook. As 
there were here strong indications of the ice closing in, and 
his instructions were positive to keep in open water if pos- 
sible, he determined to return to Kotzebue's Sound, whilst 
he despatched the barge under Mr. Elson and Mr. Smyth, 
to trace the coast to the north-eastward, as far as they could 
navigate. 

On this interesting service the barge set out on 17th 

* Beechey's Voyage, vol. i. p. 341. 



1826.] AURORA BOREALIS. 251 

August, whilst Beechey returned towards Kotzebue's 
Sound. On the night of the 25th they beheld, for the 
first time in these northern latitudes, a brilliant display of 
the Aurora Borealis. " It first appeared," says Captain 
Beech ey, "in an arch extending from west by north to 
north-east ; but the arch, shortly after its first appearance, 
broke up and entirely disappeared. Soon after this, how- 
ever, a new display began in the direction of the western 
foot of the first arch, preceded by a bright flame from which 
emanated coruscations of a pale straw colour. An almost 
simultaneous movement occurred at both extremities of the 
arch, until a complete segment was formed of wavering 
perpendicular radii. As soon as the arch was complete, 
the light became greatly increased, and the prismatic 
colours, which had before been faint, now shone forth in a 
very brilliant manner. The strongest colours, which were 
also the outside ones, were pink and green, on the green 
side purple and pink, all of which were as imperceptibly 
blended as in the rainbow. The green was the colour 
nearest the zenith. This magnificent display lasted a few 
minutes ; and the light had nearly vanished, when the 
north-east quarter sent forth a vigorous display, and nearly 
at the same time a corresponding coruscation emanated 
from the opposite extremity. The western foot of the arch 
then disengaged itself from the horizon, crooked to the 
northward, and the whole retired to the north-east quarter, 
where a bright spot blazed for a moment, and all was 
darkness. There was no noise audible during any part 
of our observations, nor were the compasses perceptibly 
affected."* During the voyage back to Chamisso Island, 
where they arrived on 27 th August, they had repeated in- 
terviews with the Esquimaux, whose habits and disposition 

* Beechey 's Voyage, vol. i. p. 387. 



252 ESQUIMAUX CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS. [1826. 

were in no respect different from those of the natives already 
described. They found them uniformly friendly, sociable, 
devotedly fond of tobacco, eager to engage in traffic, and 
upon the whole honest, though disposed to drive a hard 
bargain. On some occasions they attempted to impose 
upon their customers, by skins artfully put together, so as 
to represent an entire fish ; but it was difficult to determine 
whether they intended a serious fraud or only a piece of 
humour, for they laughed heartily when detected, and ap- 
peared to consider it a good joke. Their persons, houses, 
and cookery, were all exceedingly dirty, and their mode 
of salutation was by a mutual contact of noses ; sometimes 
licking their hands, and stroking first their own faces, and 
afterwards those of the strangers.* The rapidity with 
which these people migrated from place to place was re- 
markable. On one occasion the motions of two baidars 
under sail were watched by the crew of the Blossom. The 
people landed at a spot near Choris Peninsula, drew up the 
boats on the beach, turning them bottom upwards, pitched 
tents, and in an incredibly short time transferred to them 
the whole contents of their little vessels. On visiting the 
encampment an hour after, everything was found in as 
complete order as if they had been domiciliated on the spot 
for months ; and the surprise of the sailors was raised to 
the highest by the variety of articles which, in almost 
endless succession, they produced from their little boats. 
u From the two baidars they landed fourteen persons, eight 
tent-poles, forty deer-skins, two kayaks, many hundred- 
weight of fish, numerous skins of oil, earthen jars for cook- 
ing, two living foxes, ten large dogs, bundles of lances, 
harpoons, bows and arrows, a quantity of whalebone, skins 
full of clothing, some immense nets made of hide, for taking 

* Beechey's Voyage, vol. i. pp. 345, 391. 



1826.] elson's expedition. 253 

small whales and porpoises, eight broad planks, masts, 
sails, paddles, &c, besides sea-horse hides and teeth, and 
a variety of nameless articles always to be found among 
the Esquimaux."* 

In the meantime, Mr. Elson in the barge proceeded 
along the shore for seventy miles, as far as a promontory, 
denominated by Beechey Cape Barrow, which was after- 
wards discovered to be only distant one hundred and forty- 
six miles from the extreme point of Franklin's discoveries. 
Upon this new line of coast posts were erected at various 
distances with directions for Captain Franklin, should he 
succeed in pushing so far to the westward. A frequent 
communication was opened with the inhabitants, who were 
found to resemble the other Esquimaux, with the unplea- 
sant difference that their manners were more rude and 
boisterous, and their conduct in some instances decidedly 
hostile. Point Barrow, the most northerly part of Ame- 
rica yet discovered, formed the termination to a spit of 
land jutting out several miles from the more regular coast 
line. The width of the neck did not exceed a mile and a 
half; on the extremity were several small lakes, and on 
its eastern side a village. The danger of being shut in by 
the ice was now great, and Mr. Elson determined to land, 
obtain the necessary observations, erect a post, and de- 
posite instructions for Franklin. This plan, however, was 
frustrated by the violent conduct of the natives, who as- 
sembled in formidable numbers, and threatened to attack 
the crew of the barge, which consisted only of eight men. 
It was therefore judged prudent to proceed as speedily as 
possible to the rendezvous at Chamisso Island, which they 
reached on the 9th of September, not without considerable 
difficulty, having been obliged to track the barge round 

* Beechey's Voyage, vol. i. p. 405. 



254 RETURN OF REECHEY. [1827. 

Cape Smyth, through a sea thickly beset with ice, that 
threatened every moment to close with its impenetrable 
walls, and cut off their return. The result of Captain 
Beechey's voyage, and of the expedition undertaken under 
his orders by Mr. Elson and Mr. Smyth, was the addition 
of a new and extensive line of coast to the geography of 
the polar regions. The actual distance between the ex- 
treme points reached by Captain Franklin and Mr. Elson 
being so small, there is every reason to believe that the 
navigation of this remaining portion will not be attended 
with any very formidable or insurmountable obstacles. 

In the following year, Beechey, in obedience to his 
instructions, returned to Kotzebue's Sound, and recom- 
menced his examination of the coast in the hope of ex- 
tending his survey beyond Cape Barrow, and either joining 
Franklin or collecting some certain intelligence regarding 
his enterprise. In both objects he had the mortification 
to fail. He found the posts erected the preceding year 
and the buried bottles remaining untouched, and the state 
of the weather rendered it necessary to put about before 
reaching Icy Cape. It had been previously arranged, that 
the signal to be used by Franklin, if he arrived on an 
unknown coast during the night, should be a beacon kindled 
on the cliffs ; and on passing Cape Krusenstern after dark, 
their attention was arrested by a large fire blazing on an 
eminence. Every eye on board was fixed on the welcome 
light, and every bosom beat with the delightful expectation 
of soon seeing their friends. The ship was brought to, and 
hope almost passed into certainty, as a boat was seen pull- 
ing from the shore. On examining her through the teles- 
cope by the light of the Aurora Borealis, some sanguine 
spirits declared they could discern that she was propelled 
by oars instead of paddles, and it needed only a slight 
additional exertion of the fancy to be assured that the dress 



1827-] ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND. 255 

of the crew was European. In the midst of these excited 
and enthusiastic feelings, the harsh and boisterous voices 
of the natives suddenly broke on their ear, and the pleasing 
picture which their imagination had been so busy in con- 
structing faded away in a moment, leaving nothing before 
them but two sorry Esquimaux baidars and their unlovely 
occupants. 

From this point Captain Beechey's voyage presented 
few features of new or striking interest. In Behring's 
Strait they were visited by a splendid exhibition of the 
Aurora Borealis, and under its coruscations of pink, purple, 
and green rays, which shot up to the zenith in the shape 
of a gigantic cone, they anchored off Chamisso Island. 
After the discovery of two capacious harbours, which they 
named Port Clarence and Grantley Harbour, they took 
their final departure from the Polar Sea on the 6th October 
1827. On the 29th, a flight of large white pelicans ap- 
prized them of their approach to the coast of California ; 
and after touching at Monterey and San Bias, they arrived 
at Valparaiso on the 29th April 1828. On the 30th June 
they passed the meridian of Cape Horn in a gloomy snow- 
storm, and made Rio on the 21st July. Their voyage 
from Rio to England was completed in forty-nine days, 
and they arrived at Spithead on the 12th October 1828. 
He found that the expedition of Franklin had preceded 
him in his return by more than a year, having reached 
Liverpool on the 26th September 1827 ; its transactions 
occupied two years and nearly eight months, whilst Beech ey 
had been absent on his voyage three years and a half. 



256 EXPEDITIONS TO THE NORTHERN COASTS. [1832. 

CHAPTER V. 

Recent Discoveries. 
Captain Back's Overland Journey to the Arctic Sea, 1833-35. 

While Captain Franklin, with that persevering energy 
which forms one of the prominent features in his character, 
was struggling against innumerable difficulties in surveying 
the northern coasts of America by land, as narrated in the 
last chapter, two expeditions, in addition to the one under 
the command of Captain Beechey, were fitted out and 
despatched from England to aim at the accomplishment of 
the same object by sea. The first, commanded by Captain 
Parry, sailed in 1824, with the view of exploring the 
bottom of Prince Regent's Inlet, through which, it was 
hoped, a passage might be found leading into the Polar 
Sea. It consisted of two ships, the Hecla and Fury — the 
first being commanded by Captain Parry, the second by 
Commander Hoppner. After spending a long, dreary 
winter in the arctic seas, they returned to England in the 
autumn of 1825, having abandoned the Fury, which was 
so severely damaged by the ice as to be quite unfit for sea. 

The second expedition referred to was that of Captain 
Lyon, who sailed in the "Griper," in June 1825, and after 
a voyage, in which he and his gallant crew experienced 
the most dreadful sufferings and danger, returned to Eng- 
land the same year. As these attempts, however, were 
made by sea, and are described in another volume of this 
series, we pass them over without further detail, and hasten 
to notice the overland journeys which form more specially 
the object of the present volume. 

From the year 1826 to 1833, no attempt had been made 
by land to continue the survey of the northern coasts of 
America. But about 1832 great anxiety began to be felt 



1833.] PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE. 257 

about the fate of Sir John Ross, who sailed from England 
in the year 1829, and had not been heard of since. He 
commanded a small vessel called the Victory, which was 
fitted out entirely at the expense of himself and the late 
Sir Felix Booth, for the purpose of continuing his northern 
discoveries, and enabling him to vindicate his reputation as 
an able and enterprising navigator, which latter had been 
somewhat doubted in consequence of the ill success of a 
previous voyage to Baffin's Bay. 

It was accordingly resolved by the friends of Captain 
Ross to send an expedition overland to the shores of the 
Arctic Sea in search of him, and a fitting leader for it was 
found in the well-tried and experienced Captain Back, 
who no sooner heard of such a project being contemplated, 
than he hastened from Italy, where he happened to be 
at the time, and offered his services. Mr. Ross, the 
brother of Sir John, and father of Captain James Ross, 
drew up a petition to the king, " praying his Majesty's 
gracious sanction to the immediate despatch of an expedi- 
tion for rescuing or at least ascertaining the fate of his 
son and brother;" and Captain Back's name being in- 
serted as a leader, the petition was forwarded, and shortly 
after received the royal assent. A grant of £2000 was 
also made by government, while a public subscription 
soon placed at the disposal of Captain Ross's friends a 
sum that was more than sufficient to defray all the ex- 
penses of the undertaking. 

So great was the anxiety felt by the public and private 
friends of the Arctic explorer, that everything was done 
that could be devised for the furtherance of the searching 
expedition. The Hudson's Bay Company, besides supply- 
ing a large quantity of provisions, two boats, and two 
canoes, gratis, took the expedition under their special pro- 
tection, by issuing a commission under their seal to Captain 

R 



258 INSTRUCTIONS. [Jg^ 

Back as its commander, thereby securing to him the effec- 
tual co-operation of all parties throughout their extensive 
territories. It was also deemed expedient on many accounts, 
but more especially to give Captain Back additional autho- 
rity over the men under his command, that the mission 
should be taken under the direction of his Majesty's govern- 
ment; and accordingly he received the following instruc- 
tions from the Colonial Office: — "The Lords Commissioners 
of the Admiralty having been pleased to lend your services 
to this office, that you may conduct an expedition now 
preparing to proceed to the Polar Sea in search of Captain 
Ross, you are hereby required and directed to undertake 
this service, placing yourself for the purpose at the disposi- 
tion of the governor and committee of the Hudson's Bay 
Company, who have undertaken to furnish you with the 
requisite resources and supplies. You are to leave Liver- 
pool early in the present month [February 1833], and 
proceed with your party by way of New York to Montreal, 
and thence along the usual route pursued by the North- 
west traders to Great Slave Lake. * * * You are 
then to strike off to the north-eastward, or in such other 
direction as you may ascertain to be most expedient, in 
order to gain the Thlew-ee-choh-desseth, or Great Fish 
River, which is believed either to issue from Slave Lake, 
or to rise in its vicinity, and thence to flow with a navigable 
course to the northward, till it reaches the sea. On arriving 
on the banks of this river, you are to select a convenient 
situation for a winter residence, and immediately appoint a 
portion of your force to erect a house thereon ; but, if pos- 
sible, you are to proceed yourself, with an adequate party, 
and explore the river to the coast the same season, erecting 
a conspicuous landmark at its mouth, and leaving notice 
of your intention to return the ensuing spring, in case Cap- 
tain Ross should be making progress along this part of the 



fg^gj THE EXPEDITION SAILS. 259 

shore." After directing him to construct two boats, with 
which to proceed to the sea, and explore the coast of the 
Arctic Ocean, and especially to examine the coast around 
Cape Garry, where the Fury was wrecked, and on the 
stores of which it was known that Captain Ross in some 
measure relied, the instructions go on to say : " Devoting 
the summer, then, to the interesting search in contempla- 
tion, it is unnecessary to recommend to you to make it 
as effectual as possible, consistently with a due regard for 
the health and preservation of your party." * * * 
" Subordinate to your object of finding Captain Ross, or 
any survivors or survivor of his party, you are to direct 
your attention to mapping what yet remains unknown of 
the coasts which you will visit, and making such other 
scientific observations as your leisure will admit, for which 
purposes the requisite instruments will be supplied to 

y OU '»* * * * 

Armed with this authority, as well as by that given to 
him by the Hudson's Bay Company, Captain Back, Mr. 
King (surgeon and naturalist to the expedition), and three 
men, two of whom had served in a former expedition under 
Captain Franklin, embarked in the packet- ship Hibernia, 
Captain Maxwell, from Liverpool, and on the 17th Feb- 
ruary 1833 sailed for America. 

Eight months after their departure, Captain Ross and the 
survivors of his party, whom a merciful God had brought 
in safety through dangers and privations unparalleled in 
arctic story, arrived in England after an absence of four 
years and five months. During this protracted period they 
had made very important geographical discoveries; fixed 
the position of the northern magnetic pole, and experienced 
hardships and privations, and encountered dangers, that 



* Back's Journal, pp. 13, 16. 



260 REACHES CANADA. Km* 

fill us with admiration and wonder at the endurance and 
fortitude of the men who dared and overcame them all. 
Their little vessel, the Victory, having become unfit for 
use, had been abandoned, and the wanderers were at last 
providentially discovered by a whaler, the Isabella of Hull, 
which conveyed them from the icy regions, where they had 
been so long immured, to the sunny shores of their native 
land. Although the principal object of the expedition 
under Captain Back was thus obviated, yet the despatches 
containing the intelligence did not overtake him until after 
he had reached his winter quarters in the sterile and 
romantic regions of the north; so that, even had it been 
desirable, he could not have returned home. As it was, 
however, he received the intelligence early enough to pre- 
vent his wasting time in the now unnecessary search; and 
he accordingly turned his undivided attention to the second 
object of the expedition. 

Following, then, in the wake of our enterprising ex- 
plorer, let us wing our way over the heaving surges of the 
wide Atlantic; let us track him and his gallant companions 
as they thread their way through the forests of Canada, and 
dive fearlessly into the wild unpeopled solitudes of the far 
north, casting a glance to the right and left as we go, and 
noting the wonders of a land, than which there is not 
another on this fair earth more fraught with interest, or 
more prolific of strange and wild adventure. 

After spending a few days in Montreal, where he en- 
gaged three artillerymen for the service, Captain Back and 
his party went to Lachine, a small village on the banks of 
the Ottawa, a short distance below the confluence of that 
noble river and the St. Lawrence. Here they found that 
the Hudson's Bay Company's agent had made every pre- 
paration for their voyage ; and here they were introduced 
to the first tangible bit of north-west life, in the shape of 



jgg L ] CANOES LEAVE LACHTNE. 261 

their two bark canoes, manned by Canadians and Iroquois. 
Into these the travellers stepped. After bidding adieu to their 
friends at Lachine, who, along with a number of the officers 
of the garrison at Montreal, and a large concourse of the 
villagers assembled to see them depart, " we embarked," 
says Back, " amidst the most enthusiastic cheers and firing 
of musketry. The two canoes shot rapidly through the 
smooth water of the canal, and were followed by the dense 
crowd on the banks. A few minutes brought us to the St. 
Lawrence, and, as we turned the stems of our little vessels 
up that noble stream, one long loud huzza bade us farewell!" 
One of the canoes in which they commenced their 
journey was of the kind used by the fur traders while 
travelling on the great lakes of Canada. They are much 
larger than those afterwards used in ascending and de- 
scending the innumerable lakes and rivers of the interior, 
and are capable of carrying fourteen or sixteen men as a 
crew, besides their provisions for many weeks ; yet can be 
carried, when necessary, on the shoulders of four men. 
At the head of Lake Superior, the last of the great Cana- 
dian chain, these large canoes are usually changed for 
"north canoes," which, being much smaller, are more 
manageable in shallow and intricate waters; taking only 
eight men as a crew, two of whom are capable of carrying 
them many miles overland. They are made of birch bark, 
cut into oblongs, and sewed over a framework of exceed- 
ingly thin timbers, the seams being covered over and 
-endered water-tight by a coating of gum. The bow and 
stern are nearly alike, being sharp and turned up at the 
ends, which ends are fancifully, and sometimes tastefully 
painted by the voyageurs, and, combined with the bright 
yellow colour of the bark, give to the fragile boat a light 
and pleasing, though somewhat gaudy appearance. They 
are very elegant and rapid when in motion, and it is quite 



262 INDIAN CANOES. 



Mat 
1833. 



impossible to give an adequate idea of the fairy-like buoy- 
ancy of the north canoe as it bounds upon the surging 
rapids, or skims over the lovely lakes, urged forward by 
the vermilion- coloured paddles of eight stalwart voyageurs, 
whose swart countenances, wild locks, glittering eyes, and 
gaudy habiliments, harmonize in character with the rapid 
yet mellodious and peculiarly plaintive songs with which 
they fill the air and awaken the echoes of the wilderness. 
Canoes are very shaky machines, however, and are easily 
upset or broken, especially those used by the Indians, 
which are much smaller than north canoes, being often 
made so small as to be capable of carrying but two persons, 
and sometimes only one. The following description of a 
paddle over an American lake will convey some idea of the 
buoyancy and portability of the Indian canoe. The writer, 
who had been spending the afternoon with some friends 
who lived on the shores of a small lake in the woods, says : — 
" In the evening I began to think of returning to the 
fort, but no boat or canoe could be found small enough to 
be paddled by one man, and as no one seemed inclined to 
go with me, I began to fear that I should have to remain 
all night. At last, a young Indian told me that he had a 
hunting canoe, which I might have, if I chose to venture 
across the lake in it, but it was very small. I instantly 
accepted his offer, and, bidding adieu to my friends at the 
parsonage, followed him down to a small creek overshaded 
by trees, where, concealed among the reeds and bushes, 
lay the canoe. It could not, I should think, have measured 
more than three yards in length, by eighteen inches in 
breadth at the middle, whence it tapered at either end to a 
thin edge. It was made of birch bark, scarcely a quarter 
of an inch thick, and its weight may be imagined, when I 
say that the Indian lifted it from the ground with one 
hand and placed it in the water, at the same time handing 



ISal.] ROMANTIC PADDLE. 263 

me a small light paddle. I stepped in with great care, 
and the frail bark trembled with my weight as I seated 
myself, and pushed out into the lake. The sun had just 
set, and his expiring rays cast a glare upon the overhang- 
ing clouds in the west, whilst the shades of night gathered 
thickly over the eastern horizon. Not a breath of wind 
disturbed the glassy smoothness of the water, in which 
every golden-tinted cloud was mirrored with a fidelity that 
rendered it difficult to say which was image and which 
reality. The little bark darted through the water with the 
greatest ease, and as I passed among the deepening sha- 
dows of the lofty pines, and across the gilded waters of the 
bay, a wild enthusiasm seized me ; I strained with all my 
strength upon the paddle, and the sparkling drops flew in 
showers behind me, as the little canoe flew over the water, 
more like a phantom than reality; when, suddenly, I missed 
my stroke ; my whole weight was thrown on one side ; the 
water gurgled over the gunwale of the canoe, and my heart 
leapt to my mouth, as I looked for an instant into the dark 
water. It was only for a moment; in another instant the 
canoe righted, and I paddled the remainder of the way in 
a much more gentle manner — enthusiasm gone, and a most 
wholesome degree of timidity pervading my entire frame. 
It was dark when I reached the fort, and upon landing I 
took the canoe under my arm, and carried it up the bank 
with nearly as much ease as if it had been a camp-stool!" 
The canoe here spoken of is a hunting canoe, and is only 
used by the native of these regions when away from his 
wigwam on a hunting expedition. Those generally used 
are somewhat larger, and, when the natives are changing 
their place of residence, and travelling by water in search 
of another, are so stuffed with men, women, children, furs, 
guns, kettles, blankets, and dogs, as to leave little more 
than two or three inches out of the water. Nevertheless, 



264 SCENERY ON THE LAKES AND K1VEKS. [^ 

they rarely upset, their owners being accustomed to them 
from the tenderest years of infancy. Many a good duck- 
ing, however, have these same canoes given to the servants 
of the Hudson's Bay Company, especially during their 
first year's sojourn in the country; and oftentimes have 
bragging young fellows — just landed, fresh from the re- 
straints of the old country, and big with thoughts of daring 
deeds and wild adventure — ventured into these unsteady 
conveyances ; and, after galvanically heaving about their 
arms and jerking their bodies to and fro, in the vain attempt 
to recover their equilibrium, have been obliged to souse into 
the water, and splutter ingloriously to the shore. 

The scenery through which Captain Back and his com- 
panions here passed was varied and beautiful. Sometimes 
the canoes were glancing over the calm waters of a little 
lake, whose unruffled bosom reflected, with softened out- 
line, the luxuriant verdure on its shore. At other times the 
picturesque voyageurs were slowly stemming the current of 
a brawling rapid, or, when a foaming cascade intercepted 
them, carrying canoe and baggage on their shoulders; 
tearing through break and over plain, sometimes on good 
ground, and often over the ankles in mud or swamp, with the 
light-hearted indifference peculiar to Canadian voyageurs. 
Now, they were crossing a traverse in one of the great 
lakes, whose boundless horizon, rolling waves, and pebbly 
shore, gave it all the appearance of the ocean; and anon 
they were driven to seek shelter from the thunder- storm or 
the tempest in some bay or inlet, where, under the canopy 
of the forest trees, their tents were pitched, their fires kin- 
dled, and soon crackling and blazing up into the heavens ; 
their kettles bubbling ; their tobacco pipes smoking, and 
themselves reclining on their blankets, the very picture of 
terrestrial happiness, in spite of wind and weather ! They 
were not exempt from real discomforts, however. Occa- 



1833.3 LAKE SUPERIOR FORT WILLIAM. 265 

sionally they were detained by head winds, and, during the 
first part of the journey, Captain Back was much annoyed 
by the tendency of his men to desert ; the fickle Canadians 
being much addicted to change their minds, especially 
when the voyage on which they enter is likely to prove 
long or arduous. 

They proceeded up the Ottawa, passing several of the 
Hudson's Bay Company's establishments, at which they 
were always most hospitably entertained, and the detached, 
thinly scattered dwellings of the bush farmers and wood- 
cutters, who may be looked upon as the pioneers of civili- 
zation. Leaving the Ottawa, they diverged to the left, up 
a deep black stream, so overhung by sombre rocks and 
trees, and so bleak and lifeless, that it seemed the very 
home of melancholy and despair. It took them to Lake 
Nipising, whence they descended by the Riviere des Fran- 
cais into Lake Huron, where their progress was so impeded 
by fogs and head winds, that it was not until the 11th of 
May that they reached the Sault de Ste Marie, at the head 
of the lake, and the extreme point to which civilization has 
yet extended. 

Here they purchased a third canoe to carry additional 
provisions, and commenced coasting along the northern 
shores of Lake Superior — a distance of upwards of three 
hundred miles — and arrived on the 20th May at the Hud- 
son's Bay Company's establishment, Fort William. It 
was here that the large canoes were to be exchanged for 
the smaller, and a short delay took place in consequence 
of the difficulty the men had in dividing the lading among 
them. 

" An entire day," says Back, " was now devoted to the 
examining and repacking of our various stores and instru- 
ments. Our ' north canoe,' brought from Montreal, was 
also repaired ; for, lumbered as we were with provisions, it 



266 ARRANGING CARGOES. [^ 

was found impracticable to ascend the shallow waters of 
the Kamenistaquoia without taking her, in addition to the 
two new ones ; and I did this the less reluctantly as no extra 
expense was thus incurred, and there were hands enough 
to manage the three. 

" The Canadian voyageur is, in all respects, a peculiar 
character ; and on no point is he more sensitive, or rather, 
to use an expressive term, more touchy, than in the just 
distribution of ' pieces ' * among the several canoes forming 
a party. It must be admitted, at the same time, that he 
has very substantial reasons for being particular in this 
matter, for he well knows that, supposing the canoes to be 
in other respects equally matched, a very small inequality 
of weight will make a considerable difference in their rela- 
tive speed, and will occasion, moreover, a longer detention 
at the portages. The usual mode is for the guide to sepa- 
rate the pieces, and then to distribute or portion them out 
by lots, holding in his hand little sticks of different lengths, 
which the leading men draw. From the decision so made 
there is no appeal, and the parties go away laughing or 
grumbling at their different fortunes/ '-(- 

Having settled these preliminaries to the satisfaction of 
those concerned, they bade farewell to their host at Fort 
William, and began the ascent of the Kamenistaquoia 
River, encamping at night near the Kakabeka or Mountain 
Fall. This fall is as high, if not a few feet higher, than 
the Falls of Niagara, and surpasses them in picturesque 
effect, although it is a much smaller body of water. 

Passing the height of land which separates the waters 
which flow into Lake Superior from those which enter Hud- 

* All packages or bales, whether of provisions or goods, in these 
countries, are made as nearly as possible 90 lbs. weight, and each pack- 
age of this kind, whatever be its contents, is called a "piece." 

f Back's Journal, p. 38. 



J^I] DANGERS OP CANOE TRAVELLING. 267 

son's Bay, the three canoes proceeded rapidly on their 
ever-changing and romantic route, sometimes careering 
down the rapids, or hurrying over the portages — crossing 
the small lakes, and not unfrequently sticking or making 
but slow progress in numberless small and shallow rivers. 
While descending one of the latter, called the Savannah, 
which is rendered almost impassable by the great number 
of fallen trees which bridge it across, William Malley, one 
of the artillerymen, slipped off a floating tree, as he was 
attempting to open a passage for the canoes, and narrowly 
escaped being drowned ; but he bore the accident with so much 
indifference and good-humour as to call forth the admiration 
of Paul, the Iroquois guide, who at once predicted that he 
would make a good voyageur. Accidents of this kind are 
of frequent occurrence among these dangerous rapids — some- 
times of a ludicrous, and sometimes of a more serious nature. 
On one occasion, not many years ago, a north canoe was 
pursuing its way quietly down one of the streams through 
which the arctic exploring party was now passing. It was 
approaching one of the many portages with which these 
streams abound, and the bow and steersmen were standing 
erect at stem and stern, casting quick glances ahead and 
on either side as they neared the waterfall which obstructed 
their progress. The approach to the landing-place was 
somewhat difficult, owing to a point of rocks which projected 
into the stream in the direction of the fall, and round which 
point it was necessary to steer with some dexterity in order 
to avoid being drawn into the strong current. The fearless 
guides, however, had often passed the place in former 
years in safety, and, accordingly, dashed at the point with 
reckless indifference, their paddles flinging a circle of spray 
over their heads as they changed them from side to side 
with graceful but vigorous rapidity. The swift stream 
carried them quickly round the point of danger, and they 



268 DANGERS OF CANOE TRAVELLING. 



Mat 
1833. 



had almost reached the quiet eddy near the landing-place, 
when the stem of the canoe was caught by the stream, 
which in an instant whirled them out from the shore, and 
carried them downwards with fearful rapidity. Another 
moment, and the gushing waters dragged them, despite 
their most frantic efforts, to the verge of the waterfall, 
which thundered and foamed among frightful chasms and 
rocks many feet below. The stem of the canoe overhung 
the abyss, and now the voyageurs plied their paddles with 
the desperation of men who felt that their lives depended 
on the exertions of that terrible minute. For a second or 
two the canoe remained stationary, and seemed to tremble 
on the brink of destruction, and then, inch by inch, it began 
slowly to ascend the stream. The danger was past ! A 
few more nervous strokes, and the trembling bark shot like 
an arrow out of the current, and floated in safety on the 
still water under the point. The whole thing, from begin- 
ning to end, was the work of a few seconds ; yet who can 
describe or comprehend the tumultuous gush of feelings 
created, during these short seconds, in the bosoms of the 
careless voyageurs! The sudden, electric change from 
tranquil safety to the verge of almost certain destruction — 
and then — deliverance I It was one of those thrilling inci- 
dents which frequently occur to those who tread the wilder- 
nesses of this world, and was little recked of, by those to 
whom it occurred, beyond the moment of danger; yet it 
was one of those solemn seasons, more or less numerous 
in the history of all men, when the Almighty speaks to 
his careless, reckless creatures, in a way that cannot be 
mistaken, however much it may be slighted, awakening 
them, with a rough grasp, to behold the slender cord which 
suspends them over the abyss of eternity. 

There are lights as well as shadows in every picture. 
The rippling streams and the waving trees have their spots 




VOYAGEURS. 
For a second or two the canoe remained stationary, and seemed to tremble 
on the brink of destruction, and then inch by inch, it began slowly to ascend 
the stream. The danger was past !— Page 268. 



Mat 
1833, 



ANECDOTES OF CANOE TRAVELLING. 269 



of shadow and their checkered gleams of light; and, as it is 
in the physical aspect of nature, so it is in the every-day 
history of men, more especially of those men who travel in 
the wilds of North America, where grave succeeds to gay, 
and rain to sunshine, with a violence and frequency that 
renders a life in the woods at once captivating and instruc- 
tive. The preceding anecdote illustrates one of the dangers 
to which the traveller is sometimes exposed ; the following 
extract from the journal of one who resided in these soli- 
tudes, will exhibit one of the many ludicrous incidents that 
tend to enliven the voyage and furnish food for agreeable 
reminiscence in after years : — 

" One cold frosty morning," says he, " (for the weather 
had now become cold from the elevation of the country 
through which we passed), while the canoe was going quietly 
over a small, reedy lake or ford, I was awakened out of a 
comfortable nap and told that the canoe was aground, and 
that I must get out and walk a little way to lighten her. 
Hastily pulling up my trousers (for I always travelled 
barefoot), I sprang over the side into the water, and the 
canoe left me. Now, all this happened so quickly that I was 
scarcely awake; but the bitterly cold water, which nearly 
reached my knees, cleared up my faculties most effectually, 
and I then found that I was fifty yards from the shore, 
with an unknown depth of water around me, the canoe 
out of sight ahead of me, and my companion (who had 
been turned out while half asleep also), standing with 
a rueful expression of countenance beside me. After 
feeling our way cautiously — for the bottom was soft and 
muddy — we reached the shore ; and then, thinking that all 
was right, proceeded to walk round to join the canoe. 
Alas ! we found the bushes so thick that they were nearly 
impenetrable; and, worse than all, that they, as well as 
the ground, were covered with thorns, which scratched and 



270 LAKE WINIPEG. [Jgg 

lacerated our feet most fearfully at every step. There was 
nothing for it, however, but to persevere ; and, after a pain- 
ful walk of a quarter of a mile, we overtook the canoe, vow- 
ing never to leap before we looked upon any other occasion 
whatsoever." 

On the 6th of June the canoes arrived at Fort Alexander 
— situated at the southern extremity of Lake Winipeg. 
Here Captain Back found it necessary to remain a few days, 
to await the arrival of Governor Simpson, who was expected 
daily. During this period he and Mr. King employed 
themselves in making a set of observations for the dip of the 
needle, while the men busied themselves in unpacking and 
drying the provision and packages, which had got slightly 
damp during the voyage. Any spare time they had, one 
would almost suppose, had been devoted to the destruction 
of mosquitoes ; which tormentors Captain Back speaks of 
as being awfully numerous. This voracious little insect is 
fully two-eighths of an inch long, exclusive of the proboscis, 
or trunk, with which its head is armed; and it would be 
highly amusing, were it not tremendously irritating, to 
watch the vigorous way in which it goes to work. Alight- 
ing, it may be, on the hand, it applies its trunk instantly to 
the skin, and with surprising rapidity finds out the tender 
points which occur where the lines of the skin intersect 
each other. For an instant the villain's head remains 
ominously still, as if collecting all its energies for the 
plunge, and then down goes the probe, full quarter of an 
inch, up to the very butt. Having performed this feat, it 
retracts the weapon a little, and begins to suck, which it 
continues doing till quite surfeited. On close inspection the 
proboscis is found to be enclosed in a sheath, which is split 
all the way up on one side, and does not penetrate into the 
wound, but doubles conveniently away to one side when the 
probing is going on. So numerous and tormenting are 



JgSJjf] MOSQUITOES. 271 

these insects, that they drive the deer into ponds of water 
for shelter, where the agonized animals remain for hours, 
with their noses alone out of the water; and it is said that 
bisons are not unfrequently suffocated by the swellings in 
their nostrils and mouths caused by the unremitting assaults 
of mosquitoes. Poor Back speaks feelingly on the subject. 
The men had been making a portage. 

i ' The laborious duty," says he, "which had been thus 
satisfactorily performed, was rendered doubly severe by the 
combined attacks of myriads of sand-flies and mosquitoes, 
which made our faces stream with blood. There is cer- 
tainly no form of wretchedness, among those to which the 
checkered life of a voyageur is exposed, at once so great and 
so humiliating, as the torture inflicted by these puny blood- 
suckers. To avoid them is impossible; and as for defend- 
ing himself, though for a time he may go on crushing thou- 
sands, he cannot long maintain the unequal conflict; so 
that at last, subdued by pain and fatigue, he throws him- 
self in despair with his face to the earth, and, half suffocated 
in his blanket, groans away a few hours of sleepless rest."* 

On the 10th of June the governor arrived, and communi- 
cated the measures which had been taken for the furtherance 
of the object of the expedition. Letters were given to 
Captain Back, addressed to various experienced gentlemen 
who resided near to the remote scene of intended operations, 
urging them to lend all the assistance in their power to 
the exploring party, and, if required, to accompany it. 
Provisions were laid up at several stations on the route for 
their use, and all that could possibly be accomplished was 
done by the agents of the company, with a zeal and alacrity 
which called forth Captain Back's warmest expressions of 
gratitude. 

* Captain Back's Journal, p. 117. 



272 ENGAGING MEN FOK THE EXPEDITION. 



June 
1833. 



As the most of the men for the expedition were yet to be 
engaged, it was necessary that they should proceed to Nor- 
way House — a depot of the company near the opposite ex- 
tremity of Lake "Winipeg — where the brigades of boats 
from the distant regions of the interior converge on their 
way to the sea; and, as they have all to repass this estab- 
lishment on their return, there is a constant succession of 
arrivals and departures. From these brigades Captain 
Back hoped to engage men for his arduous undertaking ; 
and accordingly left Fort Alexander on the 1 1th of June, 
and coasted Lake Winipeg towards Norway House, at which 
place he arrived on the 17th, and met with a cordial recep- 
tion from the gentlemen who were staying there at the time. 

Engaging men, however, was not so easy a matter as had 
been anticipated. " The bulk of the people from the more 
remote stations had already passed the depot, and those who 
remained were either reluctant to expose themselves to the 
hazard of what was justly considered an enterprize of dan- 
ger, or, influenced by the strong desire of gain, demanded 
the same privileges and emoluments which had been granted 
to the men employed on the two government expeditions 
under Sir John Franklin." Difficulties of another kind 
also arose. Two Canadians who had engaged to go, on 
returning to their tents were met by their wives, who re- 
sorted to different, though, as it turned out, equally efficacious 
methods of diverting their husbands from their purpose. 
The one, a good strapping dame, cuffed her husband's ears 
with such dexterity and good will that he was fain to cry 
pecavi, and seek shelter in a friendly tent; the other, an in- 
teresting girl of seventeen, burst into tears, and with piteous 
sobs clung to the husband of her love as if she would hold 
him prisoner in her arms! At length, however, the requi- 
site number of able and experienced hands were engaged 
(eighteen in all), part of whom were sent off in advance with 



June 
1833, 



J] LEAVE NORWAY HOUSE. 273 



Dr. King, while Captain Back, retaining sufficient to man 
his canoe, remained a few days longer; and then, on the 
28th June 1833, started for Cumberland House, where two 
boats and a large supply of stores and provisions awaited 
him. 

" This," says he, " was a happy day for me ; and as the 
canoe pushed from the bank, my heart swelled with hope 
and joy. Now, for the first time, I saw myself in a con- 
dition to verify the kind anticipations of my friends. The 
preliminary difficulties had been overcome. I was fairly 
on my way to the accomplishment of the benevolent errand 
on which I had been commissioned ; and the contemplation 
of an object so worthy of all exertion, in which I thought 
myself at length free to indulge, raised my spirits to a more 
than ordinary pitch of excitement." 

" We paddled along with little respite, until 5 p.m., 
when a small speck was seen under the steep sandy cliffs 
round Mossy Point, on the northern boundary of Lake 
Winipeg. It was coming towards us, and was at first 
taken for an Indian canoe ; but as we approached, I had 
the satisfaction to find that it was the company's light 
canoe from Athabasca, with Messrs. Smith and Charles, two 
gentlemen whom I had long wished to see. From the 
latter I now learnt that he had made every endeavour to 
obtain, by inquiries from the Indians, a tolerably correct 
notion of the situation of the River Thlew-ee-choh ; the 
result of which was an opinion that it ran somewhere to 
the north-east of Great Slave Lake, in a position not far 
from that which had been speculatively assigned to it by 
my friend Dr. Richardson and myself. Mr. Charles had 
further been informed by an Indian chief, called the 
' Grand Jeune Homme,' whose hunting grounds were in 
the neighbourhood of Great Slave Lake, that the Thlew- 
ee-choh was so full of rapids, as to make it doubtful il 



274 DISCOMFORTS OF VOYAGING [mi. 

boats, or indeed large canoes, could descend it ; but that by 
pursuing a different course to a large river, called Teh-Ion, 
such difficulties would be avoided ; whilst the distance be- 
tween the mouths of the two rivers was so trifling, that the 
smoke of the fire made at one was distinctly visible at the 
other. * * * The waters were described as abound- 
ing in fish, and the country in animals ; and, what was not 
less gratifying, the chief and some others were willing and 
desirous to accompany me."* 

The voyage thus auspiciously commenced was not des- 
tined to continue long, however, without evolving some of 
those ills to which the flesh is heir ; and the joyous exulta- 
tion with which Captain Back and his party set out, was 
changed into chagrin on the second day, when a breeze, 
sprang up, and, freshening into a gale with that peculiar 
pertinacity with which breezes do freshen when particularly 
wanted not to blow, obliged them to run the canoe into 
shoal water in order to prevent their being swamped in 
deep : and then getting out, they waded to the shore with 
the baggage on their shoulders. Now, this is one of the 
severest species of annoyance to which arctic travellers are 
subjected. To bear the discomforts of wet feet and pained 
muscles while tracking the boats or canoes up muddy 
streams, which appear to have no end, or across rivulets 
which have no bottom (or at least not till the cooling ele- 
ment embraces the waist or armpits), is nothing. To 
scramble through bushes that interlace with almost impene- 
trable firmness, and when forced through, give way with a 
crash that pitches the traveller forward on his head, and 
recoil with a sharp switch on his face as he staggers to his 
feet again, is less than nothing, so long as under these, or 
any other imaginable species of disagreeable circumstances, 



• Back's Journal, pp. 57-59. 



lg 3 N 3 B ] IN THE BACKWOODS. 275 

he can only advance; but, to be stopped for days on a rocky 
point running out into a lake, or on the shores of a swampy 
bay, with the storm yelling in his teeth and upsetting his 
tent, with the rain putting out his fire, and obstinately search- 
ing for, and finding holes in his oil-cloths, whereat to 
enter and soak his blankets or flood his provisions — and this, 
too, with the knowledge perhaps that an hour or two of fair 
sailing would bring him to a river where he might pursue 
his voyage in spite of wind and weather ; to be thus 
situated, we say, is a species of annoyance which quite 
overcomes his philosophy — and Back said so too upon the 
present occasion, when, to relieve his aggravated spirits, he 
put on his Esquimaux boots, shouldered his gun, and sallied 
forth in search of game among the deep, soft swamps which 
lay around. After expending his energy pretty effectually 
in this way, he returned to his tent so thoroughly tired 
as fully to enjoy repose, and feel a placid interest in the 
objects that surrounded his tent. His own graphic lan- 
guage describes the scene well. " I amused myself," says 
he, " with observing the odd assemblage of things around 
me. At my feet was rolled a bundle in an oil- cloth, con- 
taining some three blankets, called a bed ; near it a piece 
of dried buffalo, fancifully ornamented with long black 
hairs, which no art, alas ! can prevent from insinuating 
themselves between the teeth as you laboriously masticate 
the tough, hard flesh ; then a tolerably clean napkin 
spread, by way of table-cloth, on a red piece of canvass, and 
supporting a tea-pot, some biscuit, and a salt-cellar ; near 
this a tin plate, close by a square kind of box or safe of 
the same material, rich with a pale greasy ham, the pro- 
duce of the colony at Red River ; and last, the far renowned 
pemmican, unquestionably the best food of the country for 
expeditions such as ours. Behind me were two boxes 
containing astronomical instruments, and a sextant lying on 



276 ASCEND THE SASKATCHEWAN. [J^ 

the ground ; whilst the different corners of the tent were 
occupied by washing apparatus, a gun, Indian shot pouch, 
bags, basins, and an unhappy-looking japanned pot, whose 
melancholy bumps and hollows seemed to reproach me for 
many a bruise endured upon the rocks and portages betwixt 
Montreal and Lake Winipeg. Nor was my crew less 
motley than the furniture of my tent. It consisted of an 
Englishman, a man from Stornoway, two Canadians, two 
Metifs (or half-breeds), and three Iroquois Indians. Babel 
could not have produced a worse confusion of unharmoni- 
ous sounds than was the conversation they kept up."* 

Entering the Saskatchewan River, they ascended its 
stream, and on the 5th July arrived at Cumberland House, 
where they were received by Mr. Isbister, the company's 
agent, and Mr. King, who had arrived without accident. 
Here the greater number of the party embarked in two new 
bateaux, each being laden with a cargo of sixty-one pieces 
of 90 lbs. each, making for both 10,980 lbs., exclusive of 
men, bedding, clothes, masts, sails, oars, and other spars. 
They sailed, under the command of Mr. King, on 6th July, 
while Captain Back, still retaining his canoe, remained 
behind to take some observations and write despatches for 
England. Although this occupied him a few days, yet in 
a very short time he overtook the boats in his light canoe, 
and proceeded on his way, leaving them to advance more 
slowly to their wintering ground. 

On the 17th July the canoe reached Isle a la Crosse, 
where arrangements were made for the boats receiving 
additional supplies of pemmican, and a few dogs to be 
afterwards used in hauling wood, &c. during the winter. 
Dogs in this part of the world are by no means permitted 
to lead the lazy life that they spend in other climes. They 

* Back, pp. 61-G2. 



JjJgT] DOG-CARIOLE TRAVELLING. 277 

are invaluable in the arctic regions, where horses are 
utterly useless, owing to the depth of snow which covers 
the earth for so large a portion of the year. The com- 
paratively light weight of the dogs enables them to walk 
without sinking much, and even when the snow is so soft 
as to be incapable of supporting them, they are still able 
to sprawl along more easily than any other species of 
quadruped could do. Four are usually attached to a sledge, 
which they haul with great vigour, being followed by a 
driver on snow shoes, whose severe lash is brought to bear 
so powerfully on the backs of the poor animals, should any 
of them be observed to slacken their pace, that they are 
continually regarding him with deprecatory glances as 
they run along. Should the lash give a flourish, there is 
generally a short yelp from the pack, and should it descend 
amongst them with a vigorous crack, the vociferous yelling 
that results is perfectly terrific. These drivers are some- 
times very cruel, and when a pack of dogs have had a fight 
and got their traces hopelessly ravelled (as is often the 
case), they have been known to fall on their knees, in their 
passion, seize one of the poor dogs by the nose with their 
teeth, and almost bite it off. Dogs are also used for 
dragging carioles, which vehicles are used by gentlemen 
in the company's service, who are either too old or too 
lazy to walk on snow shoes. The cariole is in form not 
unlike a slipper bath, both in shape and size. It is lined 
with buffalo robes,* in the midst of a bundle of which the 
occupant reclines luxuriously, while the dogs drag him 
slowly through the soft snow, and among the trees and 
bushes of the forest, or scamper with him over the hard 
beaten surface of a lake or river, while the machine is pre- 

* Skins of the bison, dressed on one side till the skin becomes like 
rough chamois leather, and the hair left on the other. When lined with 
cloth they make excellent travelling wrappers. 



278 ISLE A LA CROSSE. [Jg£ 

vented from capsizing by a voyageur who walks behind on 
snow shoes, holding on to a line attached to the back part 
of the cariole. This kind of travelling, luxurious though 
it be however, is not without its discomforts and annoy- 
ances. The weather during winter is so cold, that it is 
often a matter of the greatest difficulty for the traveller to 
keep his toes from freezing, despite the buffalo robes; and 
sometimes, when the dogs start fresh in the morning with 
a good breakfast, a bright, clear, frosty day, and a long 
expanse of comparatively open country before them, where 
the snow, from exposure, has become quite hard, away they 
go with a loud yelp, upsetting the driver in the bolt, who 
rises to heap undeserved and very improper epithets upon 
the poor brutes, which, careering over the ground at the 
rate of eleven miles an hour, swing the miserable cariole 
over the snow, tear it through the bushes, bang it first on 
one side, then on the other, against stumps and trees, 
yelling all the while, partly with frantic glee at the 
thought of having bolted, and partly with fearful anticipa- 
tion of the tremendous welting that is yet to come; until 
at last the cariole gets jammed hard and fast among the 
trees of the forest, or plunges down the steep banks of a 
river, head over heels, till they reach the foot — a horrible 
and struggling compound of dogs, traveller, traces, parch- 
ment, buffalo robes, blankets, and snow ! 

Leaving Isle a la Crosse, the travellers pursued their 
romantic and truly interesting journey. Keeping to the 
left of Clear Lake, they coasted it, and entered Buffalo 
Lake, in which they experienced one of the dangerous 
gales for which that sheet of water is famous. On the 21st 
of July they arrived at Portage La Loche, the high ridge 
of land which divides the waters running into Hudson's 
Bay from those flowing into the Arctic Ocean. Here they 
had to carry their canoe and baggage over the ridge, a 



1S3&D BEAUTY OP THE SCENERY. 279 

distance of fourteen miles— a piece of work which tried the 
poor fellows to the utmost of their strength. Scarcity of 
water during a part of the way, and myriads of bull- dogs 
(a large ferocious fly), combined to aggravate their suffer- 
ings. Mr. King, who arrived at this place with the loaded 
boats nearly three weeks later, tells us that his men 
suffered very severely from heat and thirst. The boats 
were left at the end of the portage where they first arrived, 
two others having been provided at the farther end. Eight 
days were consumed in passing Portage La Loche, during 
which period each man of the party carried twelve pieces 
in six journeys, and thus travelled one hundred and fifty- 
four miles, during eighty-four of which he had one hundred 
and eighty pounds attached to his back. 

The beauty of the scenery at this place was superior to 
anything that had been seen hitherto. " Within a mile of 
the termination of the portage," says Mr. King, "a most 
extensive and magnificent scene burst upon our view, and 
we discovered ourselves, through an opening in the trees, 
to be on a hill upwards of a thousand feet high, and at 
the brink of a tremendous precipice. We were certainly 
prepared to expect an extensive prospect, but the beautiful 
landscape before us was far superior to anything that could 
be anticipated from the nature of the country we had 
hitherto seen. At a depth of two hundred fathoms below 
the summit on which we stood, the Clear Water River 
was to be seen winding its serpentine course in beautiful 
meanders for thirty miles, broken here and there, and in- 
terrupted by intervening woods ; while 

' The tall pines dwindled as to slirubs, 



In dizziness ot distance ! ' 

The valley, at once refreshed and adorned by the smooth 
pellucid stream, was embanked by two parallel chains of 



280 JOINED BY MR. M'LEOD. [JjJJ 

hills extending towards the west, till it became lost in the 
purple hue of distance. The inclining heights, here and 
there covered with stately forests, and occasionally inter- 
spersed with barren spots or promontories of the most 
luxuriant verdure, were beautifully contrasted with the 
incinerated tinge which overspread vast tracts of country 
where once the dense forests had been consumed by fire. 
We sat down awhile to contemplate the magnificent scene, 
the picturesque and diversified appearance of which 
awakened in our minds mingled sensations of wonder and 
delight ; while the calmness of the view infused an equan- 
imity into our souls which it would be difficult to describe. 
We tore ourselves at length from this enchanting spot; 
and having descended to the banks of Clear Water River, 
we encamped."* 

But to return to Captain Back. On the 23d July the 
last loads were brought down to the water's edge, and the 
weary men threw themselves down on the earth, where 
they remained quite motionless for an hour, after which 
they gummed the canoe, and again proceeded on their 
journey. At the Pine Portage they met Mr. A. R. 
M'Leod, one of the gentlemen who had been appointed 
by the governor to accompany the expedition. This 
gentleman no sooner heard of the appointment, than he 
expressed his willingness to go, and during the following 
year Captain Back had reason to rejoice in the acquisition 
of a man who was eminently qualified for the service in all 
respects. The party now proceeded with the additional 
load of Mr. M'Leod, his wife, and three children; not, 
however, without some grumbling from the guide, who did 
not at all relish this addition to his ahead}*- well- laden 
canoe. On the 29th July they reached Fort Chepewyan. 

* King's Arctic Ocean, pp. 86, 88. 



j|JJ] SLAVE LAKE INDIANS. 281 

Here some slight, though, vague, information was obtained 
f/om the Indians, regarding the position of the river of 
which they were in search. They also completed their 
stock of provisions, leather for making moccasins, guns, 
and inplements for building an establishment in which to 
pass the winter. Another canoe was also obtained, which, 
it was thought, might prove convenient in the event of 
finding shoal rivers to the north; and further instructions 
having been left for Mr. King on his arriving with the 
bateaux, they left the fort late on the evening of the 1st 
of August. 

On reaching the Salt River, they met with a large body 
of Slave Lake Indians, who notified their approach by 
horrible and discordant sounds. As it was hoped some 
information might be obtained from them, a council was 
called by Mr. M'Leod, which was ceremoniously opened by 
passing round the pipe according to Indian custom, from 
which each councillor drew a few puffs in solemn silence, 
and with imperturbable gravity ; after which there was a 
very large amount of talk, resulting in a very small amount 
of information. 

" The tout ensemble of these l people/ as they, with 
some vanity, style themselves," says Back, "was wild 
and grotesque in the extreme. One canoe in particular 
fixed my attention : it was small even for a canoe ; and 
how eight men, women, and children managed to stow 
away their legs in a space not large enough for more than 
three Europeans, would have been a puzzling problem to 
one unacquainted with the suppleness of an Indian's un- 
bandaged limbs. There, however, they were, in a tem- 
perature of 66°, packed heads and tails like Yarmouth 
herrings — half naked — their hair in elf-locks, long and 
matted — filthy beyond description — and all squalling to- 
gether. To complete the picture, their dogs, scarce one 



282 INDIANS GROTESQUE COSTUMES. [^ 

degree below tliem, formed a sort of body-guard on each 
side of the river ; and as the canoe glided away with the 
current, all the animals together, human and canine, set 
up a shrill and horrible yell."* 

On the 8th of August they reached Great Slave Lake, 
and arrived at Fort Resolution. At this post they re- 
mained some days to arrange about an interpreter, com- 
plete their stock of necessaries, and repair the canoes ; and 
then, launching forth again, they coasted along the northern 
shores of Great Slave Lake. 

At the eastern extremity of this lake, a river entered it 
which, it was supposed, flowed from the country where the 
Thlew-ee-choh took its rise; and towards this river Captain 
Back directed his course with increasing hope, notwith- 
standing the account given of it by the Indians, who assured 
him that it was full of rapids and waterfalls. On the way 
he experienced the usual alternations of storm and calm, rain 
and sunshine, while his I'oute was enlivened by occasional 
meeting with Indians. One of these fellows, to show his 
respect for the white men, put on a surtout which he had 
purchased at the fort; and, as the surtouts sent out for the 
fur trade are made of snuff-coloured brown cloth, in the 
cut of the last century — with a rolling collar about four 
inches wide reaching half-way up the back of the head, 
single breast, particularly long skirt, and peculiarly short 
waist, the buttons behind being in close proximity to each 
other, and looking as if they wished to creep up the back, 
and make acquaintance with the collar — it may be sup- 
posed the awkward son of the forest did not improve his 
appearance by the adoption of such a garb. Being al- 
lowed to remain unbuttoned, it disclosed the fact that he 
was unprovided with inexpressibles, which produced an 
irresistibly comical effect. 

* Back, p. 79. 



^JJJ] KILLING MOOSE-DEEE. 283 

One evening, as they were paddling among the tall reeds 
that grew in a bay of the lake, winding out and in among 
them, and obtaining through their occasional openings a 
partial view of the scene beyond, the sharp-eyed Indians 
descried the ponderous antlers of a moose deer ; and La 
Prise, a Chepewyan, being expert at approaching these 
quick-eared animals, went in pursuit. Meanwhile they 
dropped silently down a small stream until a place was 
found dry enough for encamping. The night was clear 
and bright; and the men were earnestly watching the 
boiling of a kettle of meat, when they were startled by a 
long shrill whoop, which Louison, the interpreter, im- 
mediately answered, announcing at the same time that it 
was the small canoe, and that La Prise had killed his game. 
The plash of paddles was soon heard in the still night air, 
and in a few minutes the canoe, with its inmates, glided 
against the long grass on the bank of the encampment, 
under the broad shade of which nothing was visible but 
the dark heads of the Indians, as they appeared and van- 
ished with the motion of their canoe. On being interro- 
gated, the Indian, according to a curious custom among 
them, said that he had been unsuccessful ; but in a few 
minutes he produced the nose and tongue of a fine moose, 
exclaiming at the same time, " There, I shot it through the 
heart through an opening in the bushes not wider than 
my hand, and the rest lies at the bottom of the canoe for 
your disposal." 

On another day they shot a bear, which, with a few fish 
caught in their nets during the night, served to keep them 
in a supply of fresh provisions. 

In chasing the moose during winter in some parts of 
these countries, where the ground is broken and rugged, 
the hunters are not ^infrequently exposed to the danger of 
falling over the precipices which the deceptive glare of 



284 ANECDOTE OF A DEER-HUNT. 



Aue. 
1833. 



the snow conceals from view, until, too late, lie finds the 
treacherous snow giving way beneath his feet. On one 
occasion, a young man, in the service of the company, 
received intelligence from an Indian that he had seen fresh 
tracks of a moose, and being an eager sportsman, he sallied 
forth, accompanied by the Indian, in chase of it. A long 
fatiguing walk on the Chepewyan snow shoes, which are 
six feet long, brought them within sight of the deer. The 
young man fired, wounded the animal, and then dashed 
forward in pursuit. For a long way the deer kept well 
ahead of them. At length they began to overtake it; but 
when they were about to fire again, it stumbled and dis- 
appeared, sending up a cloud of snow in its fall. Suppos- 
ing that it had sunk exhausted into one of the many hol- 
lows which were formed by the undulations of the ground, 
the young man rushed headlong towards it, followed at a 
slower pace by the Indian. Suddenly he stopped and cast 
a wild glance around him as he observed that he stood on 
the very brink of a precipice, at the foot of which the 
mangled carcass of the deer lay. Thick masses of snow 
had drifted over its edge until a solid wreath was formed, 
projecting several feet beyond it. On this wreath the 
young man stood with the points of his long snow shoes 
overhanging the yawning abyss; to turn round was im- 
possible, as the exertion requisite to wield such huge snow 
shoes would, in all probability, have broken off the mass. 
To step gently backwards was equally impossible, in con- 
sequence of the heels of the shoes being sunk into the snow. 
In this awful position he stood until the Indian came up, 
and taking off his long shash, threw the end of it towards 
him; catching hold of this, he collected all his energies, 
and giving a desperate bound threw himself backwards at 
full length. The Indian pulled with all his force on the 
belt, and succeeded in drawing him out of danger, just as 




ANECDOTE OP A DEER-HUNT. 

Suddenly he stopped and cast a wild glance around him, as he observed that 
he stood on the very hrinkof a precipice, at the foot of which the imngled car- 
cass of the deer lay. — Page 284. 



n 



t 



Aug. 
1833 



BACK, THWARTED BY INDIANS. 285 



the mass, on which he had stood a moment before, gave 
way, and thundered down the cliff, where it was dashed 
into clouds against the projecting crags long before it 
reached the foot. 

Continuing their route along the hard and rocky line of 
the northern shore, the canoes passed a picturesque torrent, 
which from a thread of shining silver in the distance, came 
gambolling down the steep declivities, and then mingled 
gently with the broad waters of the lake. Near it was 
the Rocky Point River, just beyond which they encamped 
at the close of a beautiful day, in which the thermometer 
had stood at 52°. 

They now approached the eastern extremity of Great 
Slave Lake, where was the river whose sources, it was said, 
rose near the springs of the Thlew-ee-choh. Captain Back 
had great difficulty here in getting a satisfactory answer 
from the Indians who accompanied him, as to the where- 
abouts of this river. Many of them said that it existed, 
but only one admitted that he had ever seen it; and as 
that was long ago, when he was a little boy, while hunt- 
ing with his father in the barren grounds, he expressed 
great doubts as to his being able to find it. We cannot 
but admire the steady persevering energy of Captain Back, 
in facing and overcoming the innumerable and often vexa- 
tious difficulties which were thrown in his way by these 
lazy natives. They thwarted him continually; told lies 
with imperturbable gravity, and sometimes, under pretence 
of paying a visit to their relations, deserted him altogether. 

On the 18th of August they at last reached the object of 
their search — the river which was to conduct them to a 
chain of lakes leading to the Thlew-ee-choh. It broke 
upon them unexpectedly, when rounding some small rocks 
which shut out from their view a bay, at the bottom of 
which was seen a splendid fall, upwards of sixty feet high, 



286 ASCENT OF HOAR FROST RIVER. [^JJJ 

rushing in two white and misty volumes into the dark gulf 
below. Here they landed, and set about thoroughly repair- 
ing the small canoe which was to proceed up the rapids, 
while the other, and the greater part of the baggage, was 
left in charge of La Prise, who undertook to deliver them 
to Mr. M'Leod; that gentleman having been deputed to 
choose a convenient situation, at the eastern extremity of 
Great Slave Lake, whereon to build a winter residence, 
while Captain Back should proceed in his light canoe as far 
down the Thlew-ee-choh as was practicable, returning again 
to the establishment before the winter fairly set in. 

The observations here gave the latitude 62° 50' 15" N. ; 
longitude 109° 47' 54" W. ; and variation 36° 52' E. 

The true work of the explorers had now fairly begun. 
Before them the gushing stream, which was called the 
Hoar Frost River, roared down the scattered rocks like the 
thundering cannonade that streams through the breach of a 
stormed fortress, while the forlorn hope of voyageurs below 
prepared to storm the stream, and take possession of the 
unknown barren grounds that lay beyond. 

" A new scene," says Back, " now opened upon us. 
Instead of the gentle paddling across the level lake, by 
which we had been enabled to penetrate thus far, we had 
to toil up the steep and rocky bed of an unknown stream, 
on our way to the high lands, from which the waters take 
an opposite course. The labours which had hitherto been 
so cheerfully undergone, were little more than those to 
which voyageurs are accustomed ; but in what was to come, 
it was evident that extraordinary efforts and patient per- 
severance would be required to overcome the difficulties 
of our route." Up this stream, then, they went, carrying 
canoe and provisions over rocks, mountain, and plains, in 
order to avoid a succession of rapids which intercepted them 
all the way up the river. Their old friends the sand-flies, 



Aug. 
1333, 



J CANOEING IN THE RAPIDS. 28" 



too, assailed them here with extreme vehemence, and, to 
add to their miseries, Maufelly, the interpreter, fell sick. 
Having only a box of common pills, and a bottle of brandy, 
Captain Back at first refused the Indian's request to doctor 
him, but, being much pressed, he at last indulged him, first 
with the contents of the box, which made him worse, and 
then with the contents of the bottle, which made him better. 

The scenery here was exceedingly wild. High beetling 
cliffs overhung dark gorges, through which the water 
rushed impetuously, while here and there lay quiet sheets 
of clear water, reflecting in their bosoms the bold outlines 
that towered overhead, and the variously- coloured mosses 
that covered the rocks and enriched the scene. 

Among these wild rapids, De Charloit, the bowman, 
exhibited admirable adroitness and dexterity. In the midst 
of dangers the most imminent from rapids or falls, he was 
cool, fearless, and collected; and often when the pole or 
paddle was no longer available, he would spring into the 
curling water, and, with a foot firmly planted, maintain his 
position, where others would have been swept away in an 
instant. But in spite of all his care and exertion, the canoe 
was sorely buffeted, and the bark hung in shreds along its 
sides, ripped and broken in every quarter. 

One day, on entering upon a magnificent lake, a rein- 
deer appeared, running at full speed, chased by a large white 
wolf, which, though it seemed to have little chance in 
swiftness, was nevertheless resolute in pursuit. The deer 
gradually made for a pass below the rapid, at the other side 
of which another wolf was perceived, crouching down, with 
his eyes fixed on the chase, evidently prepared to spring on 
the poor animal should it take the water. Fortunately, 
however, it flew past, near to where Captain Back was 
standing, who, shouting loudly as the wolf approached, 
succeeded in scaling the rascally animal away. 



288 SOURCE OF THE THLEW-EE-CHOH DISCOVERED. [j g gj 

On the 29th of August, while the men were out scouring 
the country in search of the Thlew-ee-choh, which, it was 
supposed, must be in the neighbourhood of the spot where 
their tent was pitched, Captain Back sallied forth with his 
gun. " Becoming anxious," says he, " about the men, I 
took my gun, and following a N.N.W. direction, went out 
to look for them. Having passed a small sheet of water, 
* * * I ascended a hill, from the top of which I discerned, 
to my great delight, a rapid, evidently connected with the 
stream which flowed through the narrow channel from the 
lake. With a quickened step I proceeded to trace its 
course, and, in doing so, was farther gratified at being 
obliged to wade through the sedgy waters of springs. 
Crossing two rivulets whose lively ripples ran due north 
into the rapid, the thought occurred to me that these feeders 
might be tributaries of the Thlew-ee-choh ; and, yielding to 
that pleasing emotion which discoverers, in the first bound 
of their transport, may be pardoned for indulging, I threw 
myself down on the bank, and drank a hearty draught of 
the limpid water." 

That this was actually the source of the river of which 
they were in search, was speedily confirmed by the men, 
who returned soon afterwards saying that they had dis- 
covered it on the second day, and described it as being 
large enough for boats. Proceeding across some small 
lakes and portages, they travelled towards the river until 
their canoe, which had been showing unmistakeable symp- 
toms of a broken constitution, became at last so rickety as 
to render it advisable to return. From the appearance of 
the country, and especially of some blue hills in the dis- 
tance, it was conjectured that the river was full of rapids, 
and that their work of next summer would not be child's play. 

The observations gave the latitude 64° 40' 51" N.j 
longitude 108° 08' 10" W. ; variation 44° 24' E. 



jg3g] RETURN TO WINTER QUARTERS. 289 

Their route back to winter quarters was even more 
harassing than their advance. The rickety canoe having 
nearly gone to pieces in several rapids, was finally aban- 
doned, and her cargo strapped to the backs of the men, 
who set off to walk back over land. The account of this 
journey, as given by the indefatigable leader, is particularly 
interesting, but our limits forbid our entering upon it in 
detail. Over hill and dale, through swamp, jungle, and 
morass, they pursued their toilsome march ; now crashing 
with their heavy loads down the tangled and bushy banks 
of a small creek, and then slowly clambering up the craggy 
sides of the opposite bank ; sometimes plodding through 
a quaking swamp, at other times driving through a wood 
of stunted trees ; and all the while assailed by a host of 
sand-flies and mosquitoes, in a way that mortal combatants 
never did and never will assail their foes ! Talk of hero- 
ism ! no band of Spartans ever left their black soup to rush 
tumultuously on certain death — no forlorn hope ever dashed 
up the crashing ruins of a blazing breach, with half the 
determination, or half the obstinacy, with which these same 
sand-flies and mosquitoes rushed upon destruction ! Thou- 
sands flew, with ready darts, straight in the eyes, noses, 
and ears, of the frantic voyageurs — thousands fell under the 
withering force of one tremendous slap of their ever-moving 
hands— down they go, millions at a sweep, while millions 
more supply their places, coolly, calmly, but decidedly, 
with as much indifference to death as if it were a mere joke 
— nry, they even came on with a merry hum and buzz, as 
if they revelled in the wholesale slaughter of themselves, 
while their luckless foes rolled their heads in the very dust 
in agony. At last, however, their sorrows, for a time, 
came to an end. " We had now," says Back, " reached 
the lake where, in my letter of the 1 9th of August, I had 
directed Mr. M'Leod to build an establishment. Proceed- 



290 A HOME IN THE WOODS. [ S £™ 

ing onward, over the even and mossy surface of the sand- 
banks, we were one day gladdened by the sound of the 
woodman's stroke; and, guided by the branchless trunks 
that lay stretched along the earth, we soon came to a bay, 
where, in agreeable relief against the dark green foliage, 
stood the newly-erected framework of a house. Mr. M'Leod 
was walking under the shade of the trees with La Prise, 
and did not hear us till we were within a few yards of him. 
We were ranged in single file, the men having, of their own 
accord, fallen into that order; and, with swollen faces, 
dressed and laden as we were, some carrying guns, others 
tent poles, &c, we must have presented a strangely wild 
appearance, not unlike a group of robbers on the stage."* 

Captain Back and his hardy companions had now reached 
their winter quarters. In the cold heart of the wilderness, 
thousands and thousands of miles from the dwellings of 
civilized men, between whom and them lay the almost 
impassable barriers of broad foaming rivers and sea-like 
lakes, whose waters were becoming crusted with the fine 
intersecting needles of ice, which, ere long, would solidify 
them nearly to the bottom — high, broken, rugged mountains, 
dreary morasses, boundless prairies, and dense, dark, inter- 
minable forests. In the cold heart of the northern wilder- 
ness they built their little huts, and took up their abode 
for nine dreary months — surrounded by a few scattered, 
starving families of Indians, and solitude ; depending for 
food upon the success of their Indian hunters and the pro- 
duce of their nets, both of which often fail, and neither of 
which were likely to do more than furnish a meagre sub- 
sistence for the party. There is something truly grand in 
the courage and energy of men who thus, with the humane 
motive of delivering their fellow-men from impending 

* Back, p. 181- 



Sept. 
1333. 



ARRIVAL OF MR. KING. 291 



destruction, or for the purpose of adding to the geographical 
knowledge of the human race, leave friends, and home, and 
country, to face the rigours and overcome the difficulties 
of a hyperborean winter — rigours and difficulties compre- 
hended in their full extent and terrible reality only by 
those who have endured them. And our admiration 
deepens into respect, when we see the heroic leader of the 
band, whose stern courage and unflinching resolution 
endured and conquered all, recording his gratitude and 
trust in God in the following simple, humble language : — 
" The following day," says he, " being Sunday, divine 
service was read, and our imperfect thanks were humbly 
offered to Almighty God for the mercies which had already 
been vouchsafed to us ; and though in this imperious cli- 
mate, with everything to do, time was certainly precious, 
yet, feeling that the first opening of the sacred volume in 
this distant wilderness ought not to be profaned by any 
mixture of common labour, I made it a day of real quiet 
and repose." 

Mr. King, who, as has been previously mentioned, was 
left behind with the two boats, rejoined the party on the 
16th September, having incurred not a little difficulty 
in consequence of his want of experience in these climes, 
and had been occasionally imposed upon by the voyageurs. 
The whole party now set briskly to work to complete their 
buildings. Trees were soon felled, branched, squared, and 
put together, with a celerity peculiar to Canadians and 
half-breeds, who, being all but born with the axe in their 
hands, become very expert in the use of it. Though the 
trees were small, a sufficient number for their purpose were 
speedily procured ; slabs and planks were sawn, stones 
chipped, mud and grass collected for mortar ; and, in a 
few days, as if by magic, a dwelling-house was raised, 
sufficiently weather-tight to shelter the whole party during 



292 FORT RELIANCE THE OBSERVATORY. C 1 833! 

a winter that was to last fully eight months. All estab- 
lishments in the Indian country, however lowly and inno- 
cent in appearance, being dignified with the title of Fort, 
Captain Back thought proper to call this one Fort Reliance. 
Its exact position was in latitude 62° 46' 29" N., longitude 
109° 0' 38-9" W. It consisted of a house fifty feet long 
by thirty broad, having four separate rooms, with a spa- 
cious hall in the centre for the reception and accommoda- 
tion of Indians. Each of the rooms had a fireplace and 
a rude chimney. A miserable apology for a room, with 
many a yawning crevice inviting the entrance of the cold 
elements, was, out of courtesy, called a kitchen; and another 
house, standing at right angles to this one on the western 
side, formed a dwelling for the men. An observatory was 
also constructed at a short distance from the establishment, 
wherein certain mysterious and complicated instruments 
were fixed and erected ; iron in all forms being carefully 
excluded, and a fence run round it to guard it more effec- 
tually from the men, as they walked about with their guns, 
ice chisels, and axes. Here Captain Back and Mr. King 
used to sit in solemn conclave for many an hour during 
the winter, closely observing the various and interesting 
phenomena of earth and sky ; and awfully mysterious did 
this building appear to the simple Indians and voyageurs. 
They would approach as near as they dared, and with their 
arms folded, brows knit, and heads down, would stand for 
hours wondering at the dead silence of its occupants, broken 
only at long intervals by such exclamations as "now" — 
" stop" — insomuch that they at last, after very mature and 
grave deliberation, came to the conclusion that they were 
" raising the devil!" 

The site of the establishment was a level bank of gravel 
and sand, covered with rein-deer moss, shrubs, and trees, 
looking more like a park than an American forest. It 



° C l T 83 T 3°Ji N '] PEOSPECT OF STARVATION. 293 

formed the northern extremity of a bay, from twelve to 
fifteen miles long, and from three to five miles broad, which 
was named after Mr. M'Leod. The Ah-hel-dessy fell into 
it from the westward, and another small river from the 
east. Granitic mountains of gray and flesh-coloured felspar, 
quartz, and in some places large plates of mica, surrounded 
the bay, and rose from five to fifteen hundred feet in height. 
These hills, however, instead of proving a shelter, acted as 
conductors to the wind, which occasionally blew from E.S.E. 
and W.S.W. with great violence. 

Here they took up their abode, and the miseries through 
which they were doomed to pass during that dreary winter 
began even at this time. Fish, upon which they depended' 
in a great measure, began to fail at the very commencement 
of the season. From one place to another the nets were 
shifted, with the hope of finding a larger supply ; but, so 
far from succeeding in this, the men who were sent found 
that there was scarce sufficient to maintain themselves from 
day to day, and on more than one occasion returned to the 
ibrt, being unable to support themselves. Deer also failed 
them ; for, although there were plenty of these animals in 
the country, they kept so far away from the fort, and con- 
tinued so long among the barren grounds, where it was 
exceedingly difficult to approach them, that very few were 
obtained, and these at long intervals. The bags of pern- 
mican which Mr. King had brought in his boats were 
intended for the expedition of the following summer ; and 
as it could not be carried on without that article of food, 
nothing but the utmost extremity would induce Captain 
Back to break upon it. During all this period, and for 
months afterwards, the fort was besieged by starving 
Indians, who flocked to it in the vain hope of obtaining 
assistance from its almost equally unfortunate inmates. As 
this, however, was a disposition which it would have been 



294 OLD WOMAN FORSAKEN BY HER RELATIVES, f 00 ^!!^* 

ruinous to the expedition to encourage, Captain Back posi- 
tively refused any assistance in the shape of food, except to 
those of them who, from infirmity or sickness, were abso- 
lutely incapable of going forth to hunt. One of this class 
was picked up in the woods and brought to the fort. A 
miserable old woman, " clad," says Back, " in deer- skin, 
her eyes all but closed, her hair matted and filthy, her skin 
shrivelled, and feebly supporting, with the aid of a stick 
held by both hands, a trunk which was literally horizontal, 
she presented, if such an expression may be pardoned, the 
shocking and unnatural appearance of a human brute. It 
was a humiliating spectacle, and one which I would not 
willingly see again. Poor wretch ! Her tale was soon 
told : old and decrepit, she had come to be considered as a 
burden even by her own sex. Past services and toils were 
forgotten, and, in their figurative style, they coldly told her, 
that ' though she appeared to live, she was already dead,' and 
must be abandoned to her fate. ' There is a new fort,' said 
they, l go there ; the whites are great medicine men, and 
may have power to save you.' This was a month before ; 
since which time she had crawled and hobbled along the 
rocks, the scanty supply of berries which she found upon 
them just enabling her to live." This pitiable object was 
brought to the fort, fed and taken care of — being permitted 
to live in the hall, where she crawled about on all fours at 
will, moaning over the fire, or creeping into Mr. King's 
room, whom she found to be the only one who could alle- 
viate her sufferings. These, however, had been greater 
than she could bear. Notwithstanding all their care, she 
sank from day to day, until she appeared a living skeleton, 
and was found dead at last in a tent, beside the ashes of a 
small fire. ! there is something that thrills to the very 
soul in this picture of misery and cruelty. The feeling of 
affectionate pity with which one usually regards these poor 



° C 183 T 3^34 AN '] MISERIES FROM SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. 295 

Indians, is turned to bitter indignation as we read of the 
unnatural, cold-hearted cruelty of those who would thus 
iorsake their feeble, helpless mother in her old age ; — the 
mother who had borne them in her arms over many and 
many a weary mile of that waste howling wilderness — 
whose breasts had once sustained them with the stream 
of life, and, though all withered and shrunken now, still 
covered the poor, trembling, timid old heart, which often- 
times had beat more warmly and powerfully with love for 
those whom she watched departing, as they left her to her 
fate, than it beat for fear as she gazed upon the cold wintry 
woods, and slowly realized her desolation. It is past now, 
and she's at rest. How many more such scenes shall occur 
to raise a wail of indignation, a burning tear of sympathy, 
and prompt the earnest prayer that the blessed Gospel of 
Jesus Christ may soon shine upon the dark places of the 
earth ? God knows ! 

Famine in its worst form now began to stare them in the 
face. Day after day brought fresh intelligence from the 
various fisheries of their ill success, while parties of starving 
natives arrived from the hunting grounds, in the hope of 
getting a few scraps of food at the fort. Captain Back, 
with characteristic benevolence, imparted to them as much 
as could be spared from his own little stock, endeavouring 
to revive their drooping spirits and urge them on to action. 
It was in vain, however. The scourge was too heavy, and 
their exertions were completely paralyzed. No sooner had 
one party been prevailed on to leave the fort, than another, 
still more languid and distressed, feebly entered, and con- 
firmed, by their half-famished looks and sunken eyes, their 
heart-rending tale of suffering. They spoke little, but 
* crowded in silence round the fire, as if eager to enjoy the 
only comfort remaining to them. And, truly, fire was a 
comfort of no ordinary kind, when it is remembered that 



296 INTENSE COLD. 



Feb- 
1834- 



the temperature during that terrible winter fell to 70° below 
zero of Fahrenheit I 

It is difficult for those who have not experienced it, to 
comprehend the intensity of this degree of cold. Captain 
Back and his friend Mr. King made a few experiments 
during their long dreary winter, which will serve to convey 
some idea of it. A bottle of sulphuric ether was placed on 
the snow when the temperature was 62° below zero. In 
fifteen minutes the interior upper surface of the bottle was 
coated with ice, while the ether became viscous and opaque. 
A small bottle of pyroligneous acid froze in less than thirty 
minutes at a temperature of 57° minus; and a surface of four 
inches of mercury exposed in a saucer became solid in two 
hours, at the same temperature. On the 4th of February 
so intensely cold was it, that a higher temperature than 
12° above zero could not be obtained in the house, even 
although there were eight large logs of wood blazing in the 
chimney of a small room. As might be imagined, cold, of 
such a peculiarly sharp nature, used to prove inconvenient in 
more ways than one, and Captain Back tells us that his ink 
froze, and that in making an attempt to finish a water-colour 
sketch he signally failed — the material becoming frozen 
even while he sat so close to a huge fire as considerably to 
endanger the legs of his trousers ! All metal implements, 
on being brought into the house in such weather, become 
instantly covered with a species of hoar frost; and often- 
times have the eyes of a novice on returning from a day's 
shooting been opened to their utmost width in undisguised 
astonishment at beholding his gun, which a few minutes 
before he had placed on his table glittering in all its pristine 
freshness, gradually become dim and then pure white with 
a coat of hoar-frost! At an establishment near the shores 
of Hudson's Bay, a very curious phenomenon occurred which 
further illustrates the intensity of the cold in these regions. 



"lS34 L ] CAPT. BACK'S KINDNESS NEWS FROM ENGLAND. 297 

A ball was given to the Indians about the place — being 
New Year's day — and, during its progress, the heat of the 
room, and violent exercise of the guests, besides the steam 
from a pan of water placed on the stove, so moistened the 
atmosphere as to cause moisture to run in streams down the 
walls and hang in drops from the ceiling. During the night 
the fires were allowed to die out, and in the morning the 
whole room was covered with white crystals of ice ! 

During this period of suffering, that which tried Captain 
Back's benevolent nature most severely, was the longing 
looks of the poor little Indian children, as they stood watching 
him and his men eating their small daily allowance of pem- 
mican. tt Often," says he, " did I share my own plate with 
the children, whose helpless state and piteous cries were 
peculiarly distressing. Compassion for the full-grown may 
or may not be felt; but that heart must be cased in steel 
which is insensible to the cry of a child for food. I have 
no reserve in declaring the pleasure which it gave me to 
watch the emotions of these unfortunate little ones, as each 
received its spoonful of pemmican from my hand." 

On the 25th of April 1834, while the snow still lay deep 
on the ground, and everything wore the same unchanging, 
and seemingly unchangeable, aspect that it had worn ever 
since October, the winter packet arrived, bringing intelli- 
gence of the safe arrival of Sir J. Ross and his crew in 
England. To those who were to have devoted the ensuing 
summer to the search, this was a subject of unmixed plea- 
sure, both as assuring them of the safety of their enterpris- 
ing countrymen, and as setting them free to devote them- 
selves entirely to the secondary object of the expedition; 
and that night, Captain Back, resolving to devote himself 
to the enjoyments of social intercourse, invited all the world 
within his reach (i. e. Mr. King) to sup with him, and in- 
dulged in a generous bowl of punch. The men were treated 



298 PREPARATIONS FOR THE JOURNEY. [i83t* 

to an additional allowance of food, wherewith to warm the 
cockles of their half- starved hearts. 

Part of the men were now sent to the only clump of pines 
which afforded trees of a sufficient size to saw up into planks 
for building a boat — this conveyance being deemed better 
than a canoe for the summer journey. The famine still 
continued to press heavily upon them. Many of the natives 
died, while some of them tried to allay the cravings of 
hunger by eating parts of their deer- skin shoes and coats. 
At the fisheries little or nothing was caught, and at the fort 
they were obliged reluctantly to break upon the supply of 
pemmican. The solitude and desolation of the establish- 
ment was extreme, and perhaps no better idea of it could 
be conveyed than by the quotation of a paragraph from 
Back's journal in which he speaks of the death of two tame 
ravens. " For the last fifteen days," says he, " our habita- 
tion had been rendered more cheerfal by the presence of two 
ravens, which having, by my express direction, been left 
unmolested, had become so tame as scarcely to move ten 
paces when any one passed them ; they were the only living 
things that held communion with us, and it was a pleasure 
to see them gambol in their glossy plumage on the white 
snow. A party of men had arrived overnight, and amongst 
them an Iroquois, who, perceiving the birds together, and 
being ignorant of my wishes, could not resist the temptation 
of a double shot, and so killed them both. In any other 
situation such an event would, perhaps, have seemed too 
trifling to be noticed; but in our case the ravens were the 
only link between us and the dreary solitude without, and 
their loss therefore was painfully felt. * * * When 
they were gone, I felt more lonely, and the moaning wind 
seemed as if complaining of the barbarity." 

Towards the end of winter one of the men, called William- 
son, was lost. He had been an invalid during greater 



MA 1834. 0NE ] SPRING EXPEDITION SETS OUT. 299 

part of the winter, and had been discharged from the service 
in consequence ; but while travelling to the next establish- 
ment, he separated from his companions, lost himself in the 
woods, and was found long after dead upon the snow. 

Winter, with its cold, dreary, deathlike stillness, at last 
began to give way and melt beneath the warm touch of 
spring. The lumps of snow and bits of ice, which had lain 
so long around the fort as to have acquired all the famili- 
arity of household objects, at last began to diminish in size 
and change in appearance. The door, which it had been 
customary to keep closed with jealous care, was allowed 
occasionally to stand open, and soon a few pools of water 
formed on the ice, and the unusual sound of tinkling rills 
was heard as the great fields of snow began to melt and 
send forth the first few tiny threads of water, which, ere 
long, were to gush in volumes throughout the land, and 
help to burst the icy barriers of lake and stream. On 
the 13th May the first goose of the season was seen. On 
the 18th Mr. M'Leod arrived; and on the 7th of June, 
things being considered in a sufficiently advanced state to 
permit of operations being commenced, Captain Back and 
his party set out once more upon their travels. 

The boat, which was thirty feet long, was placed upon 
runners, and dragged over the yet unmelted ice of the lakes 
and swamps, across many of which they had to pass ere 
they could launch upon the Thlew-ee-choh. The men had 
each a small sled, or runner, on which to drag a certain 
amount of the baggage and provisions — averaging about 
one hundred pounds — and away they went with great 
merriment at the grotesque appearance they cut as they 
stumbled and slipped over the jagged surface of the ice. 
In a very short time this work began to tell upon the run- 
ners of the sledges, which peeled up, and otherwise evinced 
symptoms of veiy speedy dissolution. In this dilemma 



300 HAULING THE BOATS OVER THE ICE. [^ E 

the captain bethought himself of two pitsaws which they 
had with them. These were got out, cut into stripes, 
nailed to the runners, and in a few hours away they went 
again with increased speed, and very much diminished tear 
and wear. 

Mr. M'Leod, with a party of Indians, was sent on ahead 
of the main body to hunt, and make caches of the meat, to 
be picked up as the party behind came up to them. An 
encamping place of this advance guard was fallen upon by 
Captain Back while he was straying a little from his party. 
As he stood looking at it, he observed a tin kettle half 
buried in the snow, which on examination was found to 
contain thirty-four balls, a file broken in three pieces, an 
awl, a fire- steel, and a crooked knife. This, the most 
valuable portion of an Indian's possessions, had been thrown 
away, according to a custom prevailing among that people, 
either as an expiatory sacrifice for some calamity, or as a 
token of extreme affliction for the loss of a wife or child. 
The captain usually kept ahead of his party, being desirous 
of finding the caches, and laying the meat on an exposed 
place in his track, so as to avoid waste of time in collecting 
it. In this way they continued their route for many days, 
over every sort of lake, pond, river, swamp, creek, or pool 
that can or cannot be imagined ; sometimes comfortably, 
and sometimes miserably. The want of fire was their chief 
discomfort. " The thermometer," says Back, " stood at 
33°, with snow, and a raw cold wind that pierced through 
us in spite of cloaks and blankets. It was two o'clock in 
the morning ; and as I had not yet dined, certain internal 
gnawings began to intimate the propriety of supplying the 
organs of digestion with some occupation which might keep 
them from quarrelling among themselves. ! thought I, 
fur a cheerful fire and a warm, comfortable meal ! Accord- 
ingly, having managed to collect a beggarly account of 



JjJJ] STRANGE SUMMER WEATHER. 301 

wet branches, we applied ourselves with laudable zeal to 
ignite and blow them into a flame. The moss and shrubs 
were saturated, and would not burn; but it was fondly 
imagined that, by dint of perseverance, and relieving each 
other quickly, the dwarf birch might be importuned into a 
blaze. We puffed, and it smoked — again, and it lighted — 
still more, and it went out : the puffing was renewed — it 
looked cheerful, and wanted only a little more coaxing. 
'The least thing in the" world/ said one, blowing gently, 
though at the distance of a yard. ' Mind what you're 
about/ cried another — ' there ! it will go out — it's all 
over' — '0! get out of the way, let me come/ bawled a 
third; and thrusting himself forward, applied himself to 
the work with such vigour and force of lungs, that the few 
embers yet living flew scattered about like the sparks of an 
exploded cracker." That day, and on many others, the 
captain dined on " some pemmican and a little cold water." 

Towards the middle of June the weather became very 
cold and boisterous, especially Midsummer's-day, which was 
the coldest, blackest, and most wintry day they had. On 
the 2 2d of June, being Sunday, divine service was read in 
the tent, where, to the credit of the men, be it mentioned, 
they all came clean and shaved, notwithstanding the dis- 
comforts to which they were exposed. 

On the 28th they arrived near the banks of the Thlew- 
ee-choh, and on the afternoon of the same day were fairly 
launched upon its head waters. These, however, were full 
of ice, and it was not until several days afterwards that 
Captain Back felt it safe to dismiss his extra hands, and 
the Indians who had accompanied him thus far to carry 
provisions. On the 3d of July, however, having assembled 
them on the banks of the river, he relieved them of their 
burdens, and arranged the party which was to accompany 
him to the Polar Sea. And greatly did it surprise the 



302 EMBARK ON THE THLEW-EE-CHOH. [JjJJ 

Indians to see a boat manned by Europeans, and stored 
with the provision of the southern country, after having 
been hauled, carried, and dragged over every imaginable 
kind of obstacle for full two hundred miles, at last fairly 
launched on the clear waters of the barren lands. Mr. 
M'Leod was dismissed at this point, with instructions to 
collect provisions against their return, and to meet them 
again in September on the banks of the Thlew-ee-choh. 

While he and his party were debating as to which part 
of the country would be best to return by, "provisions being 
somewhat scarce, the fog cleared away, and discovered the 
branching antlers of twenty rein- deer spread over the sum- 
mits of the adjacent hills. " To see and pursue was the 
work of a moment, and in a few minutes not an active 
hunter remained in the encampment. It was a beautiful 
and interesting sight ; for the sun shone out, and lighting 
up some parts, cast others into deeper shade ; the white ice 
reflected millions of dazzling rays; the rapid leapt and 
chafed in little ripples, which melted away into the un- 
ruffled surface of the slumbering lake ; abrupt and craggy 
rocks frowned on the right, and, on the left, the brown land- 
scape receded until it was lost in the distant blue mountains. 
The foreground was filled up with the ochre- coloured lodges 
of the Indians, contrasting with our own pale tents ; and 
to the whole scene animation was given by the graceful 
motions of the unstartled deer, and the treacherous crawl- 
ing of the wary hunters." 

The very first day introduced them to the perils which 
they were to encounter in that rugged river. Coming up 
to a strong rapid and fall, down which the boat could only 
be run in a light state, all the baggage was earned over 
the rocks, and four good hands left in the boat. They 
pushed off into the stream, and ran the first fall in safety ; 
but having steered too much to the left, they were drawn 



JjJJ] DANGEKS AMONG EAPIDS. 303 

on to a ledge of rock, forming part of the second ; this 
brought the boat up with a crash which threatened imme- 
diate destruction, and called forth a shriek from the pros- 
trate crew. The steersman jumped out on the rock and 
tried to lift her off, but without success. Another moment, 
and the fierce current swung her stern round, and it seemed 
as if nothing could save her from descending in a gush of 
green water straight on to a sharp rock below, against 
which a wave of five feet high was breaking. Happily 
the steering oar had been left projecting out astern, and, as 
the boat swung, it caught a rock, which pitched her out 
broadside to the current, when she was carried down in 
safety. 

The party now consisted of eight boatmen, Mr, King, 
and the commander, and seldom has so small a band of 
adventurers experienced such a hazardous, comfortless, and 
truly rough-and-tumble journey as they did. The weather, 
which had been all along boisterous and cold, became 
worse and worse as they went on, so that they were fre- 
quently wet all day, and, owing to the want of firewood, 
they were of necessity wet all night. Nevertheless, they 
kept up their spirits — not ' by pouring spirits down ' — for- 
tunately for them they had but little " fire-water," and 
cared little for it — but by being contented and cheerful 
under all circumstances. Captain Back, too, in the midst 
of discomforts which might have damped the ardour of 
most men, cheered up his party by word and action — 
keeping ever before their minds, that, however well man 
may order his plans, the disposal of all is in the hands of 
God. 

The river expanded sometimes into immense lakes, which 
often detained, and sometimes threatened to arrest them 
altogether; at other places it narrowed into a deep and 
rapid stream, which gushed in a black boiling mass through 



304 RUNNING THE EAPIDS. 



July 
1834. 



between high cliffy or foamed over a rugged bed of broken 
rocks and boulder- stones — terminating not unfrequently in 
a stupendous fall. Obstacles of this kind, however they 
may interrupt the progress of ordinary men, are no barriers 
in the way of nor'-westers ; so they swept through the gorges, 
manoeuvred skilfully down the rapids, and made portages 
to avoid the falls, with a degree of facility and safety that 
was little short of miraculous. In one place they had a 
narrow escape, which is but a specimen of what was of 
daily occurrence. " A little sheet of water," says Back, 
" bounded to the right by mounds and hills of white sand, 
with patches of rich herbage, where numerous deer were 
feeding, brought us to a long and appalling rapid, full of 
rocks and large boulders ; the sides hemmed in by a wall 
of ice, and the current flying with the velocity and force of 
a torrent. The boat was lightened of her cargo, and I 
stood on a high rock, with an anxious heart, to see her run 
it. I had every hope which confidence in the judgment 
and dexterity of my principal men could inspire ; but it 
was impossible not to feel that one crash would be fatal to 
the expedition. Away they went, with the speed of an 
arrow, and, in a moment, the foam and rocks hid them 
from my view. I heard what sounded in my ear like a 
wild shriek, and saw Mr. King, who was a hundred yards 
before me, make a sign with his gun, and then run forward. 
I followed, with an agitation which may be conceived ; and, 
to my inexpressible joy, found that the shriek was the 
triumphant whoop of the crew, who had landed safely in a 
small bay below. This was called Malley's Rapid, in con- 
sequence of one of the party, so called, having lost him- 
self in the adjacent willows for some time." 

On the 13th July, a glimpse of sunshine tempted the 
captain to halt for the purpose of taking observations, and, 
while he was thus engaged, the men were permitted to 



July 

1834. 



GEESE WITHOUT FEATHERS. 305 



scour the country in pursuit of deer and musk-oxen, which 
literally swarmed in the barren grounds, and infused life 
and animation into many a wild picturesque scene. The 
hunters soon returned with four fine bucks, which afforded 
them an agreeable change from the customary meal of 
pemmican. 

The latitude was 65° 38' 21" N., and longitude 106° 35' 
23" W. At this place the river began to take an easterly 
bend, which perplexed and annoyed them much ; causing 
great anxiety as to whether it would ultimately lead them 
to the frozen sea, or terminate in Hudson's Bay. In any 
case, they had nothing for it but to push on, and their 
labours were rewarded afterwards by their finding that 
the river trended again in a northerly direction, and their 
hopes were further increased by the discovery, on the 16th 
July, of some old Esquimaux encampments. Once, indeed, 
they thought they saw tents of the Esquimaux ahead, but 
on a nearer approach they turned out to be some luxuriant 
clumps of willows, which were inhabited by thousands of 
geese. They had selected the spot as being a convenient 
one for the operation of casting their feathers. 

Geese, while in this condition, are most superb runners, 
and put the hunters to their utmost metal sometimes to 
catch them ; leading them through bog, pool, and swamp, 
with a dexterity that often brings their pursuers into many 
an awkward and watery predicament, leaving it often- 
times a point in dispute w r hether the chasers or the chased 
were the greatest geese ! They observed thousands upon 
thousands of the most excellent quills scattered over the 
sand. 

A curious feature in this part of the country was the 
number of huge boulder-stones scattered around, not only 
in the river, but on the very pinnacles of the highest hills. 

On the 28th July they met the first Esquimaux, who, 



30G MEET WITH ESQUIMAUX. L'isS? 

as usual on their first seeing Europeans, exhibited at once 
their consternation and astonishment, by shouts, yells, 
antics, and gesticulations of the most inhuman sort; labour- 
ing under the impression, apparently, that by so doing they 
would frighten their new visiters away. As is also usual 
on such occasions, of course they found themselves mis- 
taken, for the boat continued to approach the shore despite 
the brandishing of spears and other belligerent demon- 
strations ; whereupon the whole nation formed in a semi- 
circle round the spot where the boat grounded, and stood 
on the defensive. Captain Back, however, soon established 
friendly relations with them, by walking boldly up, unarmed 
and alone, at the same time calling out Tima — peace — with 
great emphasis, tossing up his arms in true Esquimaux 
style, and, finally, shaking hands all round. This quieted 
them, and they soon mingled with the men, from whom 
they received a few buttons with great delight. They 
evidently had not souls above buttons ; indeed, were one to 
judge from the joy occasioned on receipt of these ornaments, 
it might be doubted whether their souls had yet attained 
to such a height of savage felicity as ever to have come up 
to buttons before ! 

A portage had to be made at this place; so, to divert 
the attention of the poor natives, and prevent their being 
tempted to steal, Captain Back went up to their tents and 
sketched them. He describes them as being neat and well- 
made, not so cunning as those further to the west, and 
altogether a harmless, inoffensive race. The crew of the 
boats pronounced the girls to be "bonnie creatures;" but 
really, upon turning to an engraving from the captain's 
portrait of one of these ladies, one can only come to the 
conclusion that the crew's notion of bonnie creatures was, 
to say the least of it, peculiar ! His description of the 
taking of this portrait is so humorous that we give it in his 



lg^/] BACK TAKES A PORTRAIT. 307 

own words: "The only lady," says he, "whose portrait 
was sketched, was so flattered at being selected for the 
distinction, that, in her fear lest I shonld not sufficiently 
see every grace of her good-tempered countenance, she 
intently watched my eye; and, according to her notion of 
the part I was pencilling, protruded it or turned it, so as 
to leave me no excuse for not delineating it in the full 
proportion of its beauty. Thus, seeing me look at her 
head, she immediately bent it down, stared portentously 
when I sketched her eyes; puffed out her cheeks when 
their turn arrived; and, finally, perceiving that I was 
touching in the mouth, opened it to the full extent of her 
jaws, and thrust out the whole length of her tongue I" From 
these friendly natives they received assistance in carrying 
the boat over a very bad portage — a task to which the 
men were quite unequal; so that to them Captain Back 
was indebted for aid, without which he would not have 
reached the sea at all. 

Leaving these interesting denizens of the north, the 
party pursued their way, and, on the 29th July, were 
gladdened with a sight of the first headland in the Polar 
Sea, which was named Victoria Headland. This, then, 
was the mouth of the Thlew-ee-choh, which, after a violent 
and tortuous course of five hundred and thirty geographical 
miles, running through an iron-ribbed country, without a 
single tree on the whole line of its banks, expanding into 
fine large lakes with clear horizons, most embarrassing to 
the navigator, and broken into falls, cascades, and rapids, 
to the number of no less than eighty-three in the whole, 
pours its waters into the Polar Sea in latitude 67° 1 1' 00" N. 
and longitude 94° 30' 0" W. 

The mouth of the Thlew-ee-choh opened into a broad 
firth, the western shore of which was so beset by ice, that 
they resolved on coasting to the eastward, which was more 



308 THE MOUTH OF THE THLEW-EE-CHOH. [^£ 

open, till some favourable opportunity offered for crossing 
over. So stormy was the weather, however, that they 
succeeded in this at length with great difficulty, after 
having been detained several days on an island which they 
mistook for the main. This they called Montreal Island. 
By slow degrees they proceeded along the ice- girt shore, 
sometimes advancing a few miles, when a favouring breeze 
opened a lane in the ice, but more frequently detained in 
their dreary encampments, in which they suffered much 
from cold and rain. In reading the graphic account of the 
journey by Captain Back, one cannot fail to be struck by 
the constant repetition of such sentences as the following : 
" The morning set in with rain, for which, custom had now 
taught us to look as a thing of course; but a faint hope 
was excited by the view of a narrow lane of water, which 
had opened, how or from what cause we knew not, outside, 
between the grounded ice and the main body ; and prepara- 
tions were already making for a start at high water, when 
the wind suddenly chopped round from S.E. to N.W., and 
fixed us once more to the spot;" and, again: " A wet fog 
ushered in the morning of the 14th August, and left every 
object dark and indefinable at eighty or ninety paces 
distant. The breeze increased, and was fast packing the 
seaward body of ice, which now came with considerable 
velocity towards the shore, and threatened to lengthen our 
tedious and most annoying detention." To render their 
position even more deplorable, scarcely any fuel was to 
be found, and they experienced the greatest difficulty in 
procuring sufficient to cook their food, often being obliged 
to breakfast, dine, and sup on a morsel of dry pemmican 
and a cup of cold water. One day three deer came within 
shot, and were killed. No savoury steaks, however, tickled 
their olfactory nerves with pleasant fumes, or gratified 
their palates with an unaccustomed meal ; — they could not 



1 8 ™;] FARTHER PROGRESS ARRESTED. 309 

be cooked for want of dry fuel !" The low flat country, 
too, was the picture of desolation. " It was one irregular 
plain of sand and stones ; and had it not been for a rill of 
water, the meandering of which relieved the monotony of 
the sterile scene, one might have fancied one's self in one 
of the parched plains of the East, rather than on the shores 
of the Arctic Sea." 

Nevertheless, with unflinching ardour did Captain Back 
and his gallant crew push forward, in the hope of reaching 
a more open sea, and connecting their discoveries with 
those of Captain Franklin at Point Turnagain. Indeed, a 
spirit of endurance and cheerfulness distinguished the whole 
party, which nothing seemed capable of damping. On the 
7th of August they reached the extreme point of land, which 
terminates the wide mouth of the river, and whence the 
coast trends to the westward. This was named Point 
Ogle, and another cape, seen far to the west, was named 
Point Kichardson. Several portions of the coast of Boothia 
Felix were also seen in the distance to the northward. 
Here they were completely baffled in every attempt made 
to advance. The ice became more firmly wedged every 
day; one of the men fell sick; the season was far advanced, 
and any further attempts to proceed would have been fool- 
hardy; so, under these untoward circumstances, Captain 
Back resolved to retrace his steps. Before doing so, how- 
ever, the British flag was unfurled, and the land taken 
possession of, with three enthusiastic cheers, in the name 
of His Most Gracious Majesty William IV. The latitude 
of the place was 68° 13' 57" N., longitude 94° 58' 1" W., 
and variation, as well as the sluggishness of the instru- 
ments would allow it to be determined, 1° 46' W. 

Our limits do not permit us to follow the adventurous 
voyageurs as they retrace their route up the foaming cata- 
racts of the Thlew-ee-choh. In the middle of August they 



310 CONCLUSION OF THE EXPEDITION. [JJg? 

left the cold precincts of the Arctic Sea, and on the 17th 
September met Mr. M'Leod, according to appointment, at 
Sand- Hill Bay. He had long been expecting them, and had 
spent many an anxious hour in watching the distant objects 
in the direction of their route. With this gentleman they 
returned to Fort Reliance, " after an absence of nearly four 
months ; tired, indeed, but well in health, and truly grate- 
ful for the manifold mercies we had experienced in the 
course of our long and perilous journey." 

Preparations were soon set on foot to spend another 
winter in the wilderness. Once more the woods resounded 
with the woodman's axe, and the little rooms glowed with 
the blazing fires of wood. Again the nets were set and 
the guns loaded, and the white man and the red ranged 
the woods in company ; while Captain Back and Mr. King 
found ample and interesting occupation in mapping their 
discoveries and writing their journals. 

On the 28th of May 1835, Captain Back bade adieu to 
the polar regions, and returned to England, where he 
arrived on the 8th September, after an absence of two 
years and seven months. The remainder of the party 
returned by the Hudson's Bay Company's ship in October. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Recent Discoveries. 

Dease and Simpson's Overland Journey to the Polar Sea, 1837-38-39. 

The joyous whoop and plaintive song of Captain Back's 
retreating party had hardly ceased to reverberate among 
the hills and valleys of the barren grounds — the echoes 
had scarce rolled their last faint murmur across the clear 
waters of the far north, and the startled deer had scarcely 



iJjjT] DEASE AND SIMPSON'S EXPEDITION INSTRUCTIONS. 311 

ventured to indulge in a feeling of security, or ceased to 
gaze around in bewildered astonishment at the unexpected 
intrusion on their sterile domain, when the echoes were 
re-awakened, and the antlered monarchs of the waste re- 
disturbed, by another adventurous party of white men, 
whose restless curiosity and insatiable thirst for knowledge 
led them once more to attempt the completion of the sur- 
vey of the northern coasts of America. On this occasion 
the expedition was conducted by two gentlemen in the ser- 
vice of the Hudson's Bay Company — Messrs. Dease and 
Simpson, men eminently qualified for the arduous task 
given to them to accomplish — the one from his long 
acquaintance with the nature and resources of the country 
to be explored, and his thorough experience in arctic tra- 
velling; the other from his scientific attainments, super- 
added to an experience of nor' -west life of some years' 
standing, his youth, and energetic resolution in encounter- 
ing and overcoming difficulties. 

The instructions for the guidance of these gentlemen were 
conveyed to them in a letter from Sir George Simpson, the 
governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, dated Norway 
House, 2d July 1836, the substance of which was as follows : 

The expedition, which was to consist of twelve men, was 
to be conducted to Fort Chepewyan or Great Slave Lake, 
as might be considered expedient, where they were to pass 
the winter of 1836-7. On the opening of the navigation 
in June, they were to proceed by boat down the Mackenzie 
River to Fort Norman, and there leave four men, with 
directions to proceed to Great Bear Lake, and, on the most 
convenient position, erect buildings, establish fisheries, and 
collect provisions for the maintenance of the party during 
the winter of 1837-8. In the meantime, Messrs. Dease and 
Simpson were to continue their journey down the Mac- 
kenzie to the sea, along the shores of which they were to 



312 INSTRUCTIONS. 



July 
1836. 



explore, as far as to the most easterly point reached by 
Captain Beechey's barge in 1826. Returning to their 
winter quarters on Great Bear Lake, they were to make 
preparations for another voyage of discovery in the summer 
of 1838. The object of that voyage was to trace the coast, 
from Franklin's Point Turnagain, eastward to the mouth 
of the Thlew-ee-choh, or as much farther as the nature of 
the ground, their resources, and the advanced state of the 
season, would admit. 

The necessary outfit of provisions, clothing, astronomical 
instruments, &c, being completed, Mr. Dease and his 
voyageurs took their departure for the far north, in the 
Athabasca brigade, on the 21st July — reaching Fort 
Chepewyan, where they were to winter, on the 28th of 
September ; while Mr. Simpson proceeded to the colony of 
Red River, there to spend as much time as he had to 
spare in brushing up his scientific knowledge, (which, amid 
the care and bustle of a trader's life, had got somewhat 
rusty,) and in making preparations for his journey. 

As the long summer journey performed by Mr. Dease 
to Fort Chepewyan has been, at least in its principal 
features and characteristics, described in the similar jour- 
ney accomplished by Captain Back, we shall leave him 
for the present, and follow the fortunes of Mr. Simpson — 
accompanying him to the Red River settlement, and 
thence, in a winter journey, to Fort Chepewyan. 

It were foreign to our purpose to enter into a minute 
account of Red River settlement, yet we think that a cur- 
sory glance in passing at this oasis in the desert, may 
not be uninteresting to the reader. 

Red River settlement is situated on the banks of the 
Red and Assiniboine Rivers, both of which unite their 
streams at a point about the centre of the colony, and 
nearly opposite Fort Garry, the principal establishment of 



JgjT] RED RIVER SETTLEMENTS. 313 

the Hudson's Bay Company. From this point they roll 
their united waters into Lake Winipeg, watering, in their 
course, the wooded slopes, covered with luxuriant vegeta- 
tion, amid which the wooden cottages of the settlers are 
picturesquely embedded. The colony is well supplied with 
schools and churches, is salubrious and productive, and 
were it not for the fact that there is no market beyond that 
which is furnished by the Hudson's Bay Company, it would 
be a flourishing settlement. As it is, the company, of 
course, can purchase but a comparatively small quantity 
of the produce; so that the remainder, if not consumed at 
home, must either be lost, or conveyed, at great risk and 
expense, over the prairies some hundreds of miles, to the 
American town of St. Peter's, through the country of the 
Sieux and other warlike tribes of Indians. 

Three races of men compose the population of this 
sequestered spot : the descendants of Scotch Highlanders, 
who originally emigrated under the auspices of the Earl 
of Selkirk ; Indians of the Cree and Salteaux tribes, who 
have been induced to give up the chase, and settle under 
the pastoral wing of a clergyman of the Church of Eng- 
land; and Canadian half-breeds, who are the wildest, 
gayest, and most reckless set of dare-devils that ever scat- 
tered death and destruction among the terrified buffalo of 
the prairies, or with hilarious revelry startled the outraged 
echoes of the wilderness. These half-breeds spend their 
time in hunting the buffalo, at which they are very expert, 
or in conveying the company's goods from post to post in 
boats, up rapids, over cataracts, lakes, and portages that 
would seem to defy the utmost powers of man. Nothing 
daunts them, nothing quiets them (but sleep), nothing 
tires, and nothing tames them ! 

Great quantities of that delicious compound of dried 
buffalo meat, fat and hairs, called pemmican, is used by the 



314 RED RIVER HALF-BREEDS. [1836. 

servants of the company ; and as this calls for a pretty ex- 
tensive supply of beef, these wild fellows find their interest 
and inclination felicitously conjoined in the chase of the 
buffalo. Owing to the regularity of this hunt, the buffaloes, 
labouring, doubtless, under that trepidation which self-love 
is apt to engender in the presence of dangerous society, 
have retired to some distance from the colony, so that the 
hunters have to make a journey of upwards of three days, 
and sometimes longer, ere they meet with their game. 
And a wild, interesting sight it is, to behold these demi- 
savages assembling on the banks of the Assiniboine in 
large bands, with waggons, carts, guns, and horses, pre- 
paratory to setting out for one of their periodical hunts. 
Being fond of gaudy show, and restrained by no Parisian 
code of fashion, the half-breeds dress in light blue cloth 
capotes, fastened round the waist with bright scarlet or 
parti-coloured worsted sashes. Very broad and conspicuous 
belts of the same colour, ornamented sometimes with white 
beads, cross their breasts and backs, to which they append 
powder-horns and shot-pouches. Leggins of variously 
coloured cloths, all more or less ornamented by the women, 
with beads or silk thread according to taste, clothe their legs. 
Moccasins, garnished with porcupine quills, dyed red, 
blue, and yellow, defend their feet, while their heads are 
decked with hats, caps, bonnets, and nightcaps, or nature's 
own covei'ing, all of which are covered profusely with tinsel 
hat-cords, gold and silver tinsel tassels, ribbons of every hue 
in the rainbow, and a good many more that the rainbow 
never displayed. 

Imagine some fifty or sixty of these fellows dashing 
over the prairies with their black hair streaming; dark 
eyes flashing ; swart faces glittering ; loud voices shouting ; 
guns glancing in the sun, and dust flying in clouds from 
the hoofs of their buffalo runners, as they prance, rear, 



183S.] HUNTING BUFFALOES ON THE PRAIRIES. 315 

gallop, and curvette in a species of frenzy — imagine it, we 
say, and if you think that you have realized it, we assure 
you that you are mistaken! Let us join them in a hunt. 

Far away over the undulating prairies the line of march 
extends, carts, waggons, horsemen, and pedestrians, looking 
from a distance like the great sea-serpent, coiling its lazy 
length over the waves of a petrified ocean. The carts are 
taken for the purpose of conveying the pemmican home, and 
the women and children are taken for the purpose of com- 
pounding it. Arrived at a little clump of trees, near which 
a herd of buffalo have been observed, the women begin to 
unharness their cattle and pitch their camp; while the 
men, having mounted their buffalo runners, trot off in a 
band, with the design of surrounding their prey; now de- 
scending and now rising on the swells of the prairie. The 
buffalo runners are usually good, fleet nags, well trained 
to the work; so that, when they see the buffalo, it is un- 
necessary to use whip, spur, or rein, as they set off at full 
speed of their own accord, apparently as much interested 
in the chase as their riders ; a propensity of no small ad- 
vantage to the hunters, who have both hands fully occupied 
in loading and firing their guns. As they cautiously 
ascend the brow of a swell, a sudden halt among the fore- 
most apprizes those in the rear that game is at hand ; and 
as they press eagerly forward, they behold an immense 
herd of buffalo browsing quietly down in a hollow. A 
few hurried exclamations take place. Priming is examined, 
and away they go, down the slope like a legion of demons. 
Soon the unsuspecting herds toss their ponderous heads in 
the air; and, beholding this host of rushing monsters, away 
they go with a heavy lumbering gait, which, however, soon 
increases to a sharp run, as a shot or two from the more 
impatient spirits helps to quicken their perceptions. Soon 
the pursuers gain on the animals, every fibre of whose bulky 



316 BUFFALO HUNTING. [1836. 

frames quiver as they strain to distance them ; but in vain. 
A few minutes more, and the hunters are up with them. 
Shots begin to fly in quick succession, and here and there 
a black spot on the prairie tells that the work of destruc- 
tion has begun. That big fellow with the red nightcap is 
an old hand at the work. Already he has dropt two fat 
cows, on each of which as he passed her he threw a mitten 
to mark it his. He now nears another. The terrified 
animal, with starting eye-balls, spurns the earth behind it 
at a rate that makes the hunter's nag stretch to its utmost, 
and gain but slowly even then. He is within ten yards; 
and, pointing the gun without placing it to his shoulder, 
he lets fly. The buffalo staggers, falls; one last struggle 
of its vast frame, and it falls dead — shot clean through the 
heart — while the hunter, reloading his gun, dashes past at 
fall speed, pitching his red nightcap at the dead animal as 
he bounds away. All around, the same scene, with slight 
modifications, is being enacted. Horsemen and buffalo, 
mingled together, dash wildly over the ground, while 
shouts and yells, the bellowing of animals, incessant rat- 
tling of shots, and thunder of hoofs, combined with clouds 
of dust and smoke, make up a confusion of sights and 
sounds absolutely bewildering; while the great number of 
black spots that cover the whole land give promise of rich, 
marrow-bone suppers, and lots of greasy occupation to the 
squaws, who follow in the rear for some days to come. The 
pemmican compounded from the meat thus obtained is 
very well adapted for travelling provision, being compact 
and nutritious, and will keep good for years. It has 
proved invaluable to all arctic explorers in their long, 
perilous journeys. 

At this settlement, then, Mr. Simpson remained till the 
commencement of winter; and then bethinking himself 
that it was time to set out for Fort Chepewyan, that post 



Jg3^] MR. SIMPSON STARTS FOR FORT CHEPEWYAN. 317 

being distant about 1277 miles, all of which had to be 
traversed on foot, he prepared for the journey. 

In the afternoon of the 1st December 1836, he left Red 
River on horseback, the ground being still free from snow 
and not well adapted for the use of sleighs, three of which 
and a cariole were therefore left to follow, drawn light by 
the dogs, until their arrival at a frozen lake, or a fall of 
snow, should render them available. Several young friends 
from the colony conveyed him to his first encampment, and 
on their way fell in with a wolf, after which they had a 
spirited hunt. It was unsuccessful, however, as might have 
been expected, on hard frozen ground. 

Wolf-hunting is a favourite pastime with some of the 
settlers, and is practised in spring when the first thaws 
begin. These soften the surface of the snow, so that the 
wolves can no longer bound rapidly over it, as they did in 
winter, but sink deep at every step, while the long legs of 
the pursuing horse enables him to plunge rapidly through 
it, and so gain upon the wolf, which may be easily shot with 
gun or pistol. 

At the first encampment Mr. Simpson and his friends 
spent a few hours together, and then the latter, bidding 
him adieu, returned to Fort Garry, while he and his party 
laid their heads on their saddles and sank into repose under 
the starry canopy of the winter sky. 

The waning moon shone brilliantly when they awoke; 
and taking an early breakfast, they all started on foot. 
The morning was cold, but exhilarating: the sun, rising in 
cloudless splendour, threw his horizontal rays across the 
wide plain, and, illuminating the hoar-frost upon the long 
dry grass, gave to the expanse around them the appearance 
of a silver- spangled sea. At noon they halted for a short 
time at a cluster of trees, in whose shade they obtained 
sufficient snow for their horses and dogs, in lieu of water, a 



318 FIRES IN THE PRAIRIES. [^ 

luxury not to be found in these arid plains. The country 
over which they passed was studded with a few copses of 
poplar and dwarf oak; but a great part of it having been 
swept by the running fires, so frequent and terrible in the 
prairies, presented a blackened and dismal aspect. These 
fires are often occasioned by the carelessness of Indians, 
who sometimes leave the lighted embers of their camp- 
fires burning, and the first breeze of wind that springs 
up sets the surrounding grass in a blaze. Lightning occa- 
sionally ignites the dry grass in summer, and sometimes 
the warring tribes that infest the prairies set them on fire 
for the purpose of driving away the buffalo from the hunt- 
ing grounds of their enemies. In any case, whether 
kindled by the flashing flames of heaven, or set on fire by 
the hands of savage men, the results are most terrific; 
especially in those places where the grass is long and 
luxuriant, affording food of the most inflammable nature to 
the fire, and which burns with a fierce rapidity that bids 
defiance to the utmost efforts that human power can make 
for its extinction, as it rolls its smoke-capped volumes 
along the undulating ground, with a speed that soon over- 
takes the fleetest courser in the land. Well does the savage 
know this, and when the distant roar of the devouring ele- 
ment is borne faintly to his ear upon the breeze, the sudden 
start of alarm, the distended nostril, the glaring eye-ball, 
and the deeply attentive ear, tell eloquently of the terrible 
character of the dreaded enemy that approaches ; while the 
bound on to his horse, and the burst away across the prairie, 
show that life and death are pending on the race. An 
ingenious method is often resorted to by the natives on 
occasions of this kind, if they happen to have the materials 
for producing fire along with them. Hastily tearing up 
the grass around them, they clear a space as well as they 
can, and, getting into the middle of it, set fire to the grass 




THE PRATRIE ON FIRE. 

. . . The sxidden start of alarm, the distended nostril, the glaring eye- 
ball, and the deeply attentive ear, tell eloquently of the terrible character of 
the dreaded enemy that approaches ; while the bound on to his horse, and the 
burst across the prairie, show that life and death are pen 
Page 318. 



the race.- 



^ S 3g] DOG CAKIOLES. 319 

to leeward. In a few minutes a large space of ground is 
burnt bare, on wbich tbey take their stand in safety, well 
assured that when the flames reach the spot they will 
naturally die out for want of fuel. It may be imagined, 
however, that it is no easy matter to clear a space suffi- 
ciently large where the grass is long and matted; and 
sometimes, ere this can be accomplished, the fire rushes in 
upon and consumes them. The particular part of the 
prairie, however, over which Mr. Simpson and his party 
now walked, had been covered with grass of a shorter 
growth, which, although it burns fiercely enough, and 
leaves a melancholy blackened tract behind, is not danger- 
ous to the traveller; a good rush and a light spring being 
generally sufficient to carry him over the fiery billow. 

On the 3d December they reached Manitobah Lake, 
which had but recently assumed its icy covering. It pre- 
sented so formidable an appearance of rough, broken, and 
jagged peaks, as to induce some of the party to suggest the 
propriety of trying another route. This, however, Mr. 
Simpson would not do ; so, dismissing the wheeled vehicles 
and horses, they packed their baggage upon the dog-sledges, 
and started after them on foot. The dog-sledge is a thin, 
light slab of wood, turned up at one end, and is usually 
drawn by four dogs, whose feet are covered with little cloth 
shoes for the purpose of protecting them from the snow, 
which, when slightly frozen on the surface, soon cuts and 
maims the poor animals if not thus defended. A cariole 
had been provided for Mr. Simpson, who, however, pre- 
ferring the more manly conveyance of a pair of excellent 
legs, used it to carry his books and instruments. " Then 
began," says he, " the flourishing of whips, the shouts of 
drivers, and the howling of refractory dogs — all blending 
together in one horrible outcry. For some distance we 
found the ice almost impracticable, but on doubling a point 



320 WINTER TRAVELLING. [J^J 

the broken rugged masses gave place to a smooth and 
glassy level. To walk on such a surface with the moc- 
casins, or soft leather shoes of the country, was next to 
impossible; we were, however, provided with iron cram- 
pets, which we strapped on much in the same manner as 
the Kamtschatdales wear their " posluki," or ice shoes. 
Thus secured from many an awkward fall, we advanced 
rapidly, but found it no easy matter to keep pace with our 
dogs, who, rejoicing in the ease with which they now 
dragged their burdens, scampered along at a great rate. 
The young ice, as yet but a few inches thick, crashed and 
rumbled like thunder under our tread. About noon a vio- 
lent storm of snow-drift suddenly arose, and compelled us 
to seek shelter among the spreading oaks and elms that 
ornament the banks of this extensive lake."* 

On the 5th they travelled thirty-four miles across a series 
of gently rounded bays fringed with rushes. The wind 
blew piercingly cold, so that when they stopped to cut a 
hole in the ice for water, after being a good deal over- 
heated, their clothes, gloves, and caps immediately became 
solid, and they were glad to run again in order to repro- 
duce caloric. 

It is difficult for those who have not experienced it to 
comprehend the intensity of the cold in these regions in the 
depth of winter, especially if it be accompanied (and driven 
vigorously into the eyes, up the nose, and down the throat) 
by a stiff nor'-west breeze! Let it be ever so cold — even 
forty degrees below zero — and it is bearable so long as 
there is no wind; but should the wind rise in such weather, 
it is next to impossible to face it. No language can convey 
a correct idea of its bitter intensity. Cold — biting cold — 
doesn't come near it: frost — bitter, withering frost — ia 

* Simpson's Discoveries, p. 30. 



Dkc. 

1836. 



FROST AND FIRE. 321 



rather a warm, balmy idea than otherwise, compared with 
it. It is, in fact, beyond all description, and the only thing 
that it is not beyond is, being thoroughly understood and 
appreciated when felt! During their long and tedious 
journey the travellers experienced a good deal of this cold 
weather. In speaking of it one night, on which the frost 
seems to have been more peculiarly vicious than usual, Mr. 
Simpson says : " The night was intensely cold, and I 
literally turned my fingers with the sextant while taking 
the usual observations." This burning of the fingers is no 
figure of speech, at least as far as effect goes. The conse- 
quence of touching cold metal at such a temperature is 
somewhat similar to that which follows on coming into 
contact with metal at a red heat. As an instance of this, 
we may mention the case of a traveller in these regions, 
who, having been out with his gun, got so benumbed in his 
right thumb as to be incapable of opening the catch of his 
powder-flask. Several grouse were sitting temptingly 
before him within shot; but, do what he would, the only 
result of his frequent attempts to open the flask was to 
double up his awkward and utterly useless thumb. In 
this dilemma he seized thellask with his teeth and effected 
his object, at the expense, however, of a large piece of the 
skin of his tongue, which adhered to the cold metal ! 

There is a proverb which asserts that extremes meet, 
and, certainly, if frost and^re may be called extremes, they 
did meet, and verified the proverb, in the experience of Mr. 
Simpson's party, on the night of the 13th December. The 
men, after travelling all day over a country which became 
at every step more difficult to traverse, owing to the fast 
falling snow, laid their shivering frames beneath the shelter 
of a fine wood of elms, when the dry grass, on which they 
lay, caught fire, and before they were aroused, their blankets 
were in a blaze. Fortunately they were not burned ; so, 
x 



322 CURIOUS VARIETIES OF EEDS. \a$36. 

with characteristic indifference to all things sublunary, they 
bundled up their scorched blankets on the following morn- 
ing, and resumed their march. 

During the journey they saw numbers of grouse of 
various kinds, as also a great many white hares, which 
afforded them some sport as they walked over hill and dale, 
and proved an agreeable addition to their evening meals, 
as they encamped, night after night, under the trees, and 
made their beds upon the snow. Beds, in this world, are 
of various, and not unfrequently of curious kinds ; and, in 
the Hudson's Bay territories, more, perhaps, than in any 
other part of this world, beds are uncommonly various, and 
particularly curious. There is first the bed of moss ; which, 
adapting itself to the various outlines of the human figure, 
approximates more nearly than any other to the feather 
bed, and many a good sleep have weary voyageurs had upon 
such a couch. Then there is the bed of pine branches, 
which is a very excellent one, full of spring, and if care- 
fully spread, so as to prevent the ends of the branches from 
boring into the ribs, is quite luxurious. Sometimes, how- 
ever, pine branches are not to be had, and moss is not; in 
which case a flat rock forms a pretty good, though un- 
doubtedly a hard bed. If, however, as is sometimes the 
case, the only spot of level ground on which the luckless 
traveller can prostrate his exhausted limbs, be a bank of 
sand, or a place covered with rounded stones, varying in 
size from a marble to a cannon shot, the case is very de- 
plorable. The latter may be somewhat improved by care- 
fully removing the largest stones, but in any case it will be 
found to be unmitigated misery ; and, whether the sand or 
the stones be preferred, the inevitable result will be, that 
the traveller will sincerely wish he had preferred the other. 
There is also a species of hydraulic bed very much used in 
these parts. This, however, is not so much a bed of choice, 



JJJg] PRAIRIE WOLVES. 323 

as a bed of necessity, being oftentimes unavoidable in con- 
sequence of frequent showers of rain rendering a dry spot 
of ground unattainable. Besides these, there are infinite 
varieties of what may with propriety be called composite 
beds, partaking, in part, of all the different kinds; but 
among the various descriptions, the snow beds on which the 
arctic voyageurs nightly reposed were certainly not the 
worst. 

During the greater part of the journey, troops of prairie 
wolves followed them, for the purpose of devouring anything 
that happened to be left in the encampments ; and they grew 
so bold at last, as to menace the dogs, when exhaustion 
induced the latter to lag behind the party. " Our dogs," 
says Simpson, " began to knock up one by one, and three 
were untackled all day. These lagged behind, unobserved, 
in the afternoon ; and I had to send a man back to look for 
them. He met them just as our pertinacious followers, the 
wolves, were coming up ; and saved the poor animals, who 
were in no condition to resist such powerful adversaries. 
In the plain districts, many horses fall a prey to their 
voracity." Of the different varieties of wolves that infest 
the plains and forests of North America, the large gray one 
is the most voracious and daring. " On the barren grounds 
through which the Coppermine River flows, I had more 
than once an opportunity of seeing a single wolf in close 
pursuit of a rein-deer ; and I witnessed a chase on Point 
Lake when covered with ice, which terminated in a fine 
buck rein- deer being overtaken by a large white wolf, and 
disabled by a bite in the flank. An Indian, who was con- 
cealed on the borders of the lake, ran in and cut the deer's 
throat with his knife, the wolf at once relinquishing his 
prey, and sneaking off. In the chase the poor deer urged 
its flight by great bounds, which for a time exceeded the 
speed of the wolf; but it stopped so frequently to gaze on 



324 MEET WITH INDIANS. 



Dkc. 
1836. 



its relentless enemy, that the latter, toiling on at a long 
gallop, with its tongue lolling out of its mouth, gradually 
came up. After each hasty look, the poor deer redoubled 
its efforts to escape; but, either exhausted by fatigue or 
enervated by fear, it became, just before it was overtaken, 
scarcely able to keep its feet."* 

During their march they seldom met with Indians, and 
the whole country appeared a vast solitude. On the 28th, 
however, they met with two hunters who were visiting their 
traps. On that morning a strong, cold, north wind blew, 
driving in their faces a storm of snow which almost blinded 
them. About breakfast-time they fell in with a Chepe- 
wyan hunter, and invited him to share their breakfast. A 
cup of tea and a handful of biscuit were given to him after 
he had messed with the men, the former of which he 
swallowed, and put the latter into his pouch to carry to his 
little ones at home. At noon they met another belonging 
to the same camp, who had just killed a badger, which he 
was taking home. These red children of the woods were 
well clad, and living in the midst of plenty — supplied by 
the hand of Him who giveth liberally, and upbraideth not, 
alike to the dweller in the city, and the inhabitant of the 
wilderness. 

New Year's day arrived ! What a flood of associations 
rush in upon us when we think of New Year's day ! The 
day that seems from time immemorial to have been dedi- 
cated to mirth and joy, and good feeling and hearty fellow- 
ship among men ! The day, of all others, famous for huge 
fires, and cold frosty weather, and happy faces hurrying to 
and fro, not very well knowing with what purpose in view, 
but with a confused sort of intention of shaking everybody 
by the hand, and wishing them a "happy New Year." The 

* Fauna Boreali Americana, vol. i. p. 63. 



Jan. 

18 



{JJ NEW-YEAR'S DAY FORT CARLTON. 325 



sun of New Year's day arose too, according to its ancient 
custom ; and, as it rolled up the eastern sky, how many 
happy homes and merry faces did it shine upon in old 
England ! what a stir did it create throughout the length 
and breadth of that thickly-peopled land ! It rose red and 
bright on the wilderness, and sending its horizontal rays 
through the frosty air, tipping the white mounds of snow ; 
and penetrating the dark branches of the shrubs and trees, 
it shone upon the figures of our arctic wanderers, as they 
rose from their cold couches, and prepared to resume their 
long, long journey. There was a smile upon their faces 
too on that morning, as if its joyous influence penetrated 
even there. And so it did, for that night they hoped to 
reach Fort Carlton, and there — with the comfort of a dozen 
new faces and fresh voices, with whom to interchange the 
good wishes of the season — spend the opening days of 
the New Year. On the day following their arrival at 
Carlton, a ball was given at the fort, whereat all the in- 
mates, young and old, gave free vent to their passion for 
dancing, if the motions of the performers may be so desig- 
nated. Both the women and men in these climes, being 
very much accustomed to snow shoes, and very much un- 
accustomed to dancing-pumps, draw much more largely on 
the services of the heels than the toes, and the effect of 
this, combined with a peculiar inaptitude to graceful action 
generally, is to produce a motion something between that 
of an elephant's head and a boat in a heavy sea, which 
may be pleasant, but undoubtedly doesn't seem so. 

Allowing themselves a rest of three days here, they 
started again on the 4th, reinforced with fresh men and 
dogs. The succeeding part of their journey was very 
much a repetition of the first. Lake and river, hill and 
valley, plain and woodland, were traversed — with difficulty 
sometimes, it is true, but always with cheerfulness and per- 



326 ARRIVE AT FORT CHEPEWYAN. \Xm. 

severance — Mr. Simpson undertaking the trying task of 
opening the track, that is, leading the way; and, in so 
doing, beating down the deep snow into a sort of path, 
which very much relieves those who follow behind. During 
the whole month they travelled thus; and on the 1st of 
February, the very day on which it had been calculated 
before they set out they expected to conclude their journey, 
they arrived at Fort Chepewyan; having performed, in 
two months, a journey of 1277 miles, every inch of which, 
with the exception of the first day, had been traversed on 
foot by the whole party. On the route they touched at 
three of the company's establishments : Forts Pelly, Carlton, 
and Isle a la Crosse. At Fort Chepewyan, which is situated 
on Lake Athabasca, they were cordially welcomed by Mr. 
Smith, the gentleman in charge of the post, and Mr. Simp- 
son's colleague in the expedition, Mr. Dease. 

Here they remained until the end of May. Among other 
preparations that were made for the voyage, two substantial 
"boats were built, of twenty-four feet keel and six feet beam 
— each carrying two lug- sails. They were built for shallow 
navigation, and were each provided with a small, oiled 
canvass canoe, and portable wooden frame; and being ex- 
actly similar in size and appearance, they were respectively 
named Castor and Pollux ; while a capacious bateau, in- 
tended for Great Bear Lake, gloried in the name of Goliah. 

On the 1st of June 1837 the expedition left Fort Chepe- 
wyan, under a salute, which they returned, in genuine 
British style, with three hearty cheers; and, with beating 
hearts and high hopes, they congratulated each other on 
having at length fairly commenced their voyage of dis- 
covery, anticipating a success in their enterprise which was 
afterwards fully realized. 

Traversing the western extremity of Athabasca Lake, 
they entered Rocky River, its principal outlet, and encamped. 



June 
1837. 



STARTING OF THE EXPEDITION. 327 



" We formed," says Simpson, " a small but happy party; 
and as our white tents glittered in the rays of the sun, now 
declining to the horizon after his long diurnal course, with 
the broad river running in front, and around us the green 
woods, the view was pleasing if not picturesque." On the 
following morning they were afloat by three o'clock ; and 
passing the confluence of Peace River, entered Great Slave 
River, where they were much struck with the advanced 
state of vegetation, as compared with the country they had 
just left, which was retarded in consequence of the chilling 
influence of the lake. Bright green poplar and willows, 
blending with the sombre verdure of the pine, clothed the 
banks of the stream. Not far from this place they overtook 
their hunters, who had been sent on two days ahead, squatted, 
along with a party of Chepewyans, like so many beaver, on 
the banks of the Salt River. As a supply of salt could be 
obtained at a plain in the vicinity of this river, Mr. Simpson 
got three of the largest Indian canoes and ascended it. The 
distance to the opening of the plain exceeds twenty miles, 
following the tortuous course of the stream, which is 
shallow, and, as they advanced, became salt as brine. They 
had not the good fortune to fall in with buffaloes, though 
their tracks, and those of the moose and bears, were 
numerous; but they consoled themselves by making a 
terrific assault on the swans, geese, and ducks, which were 
attracted thither in great numbers by the briny waters. 
They did not search long for salt. A single mound on the 
plain furnished them with thirty bags of the finest quality, 
and seemed undiminished by the removal of a quantity 
sufficient for their own wants, and for the supply of the 
Athabasca and Mackenzie River districts! A mountain, 
which terminates the plain at the distance of four or five 
miles, glistened as if incrusted with the same pure white 
substance, and yet, although the whole land seemed to be 



328 FORT RESOLUTION MIDNIGHT AMUSEMENTS. [Jjg* 

saturated with salt, delicious springs of fresh water gushed 
from the mountain sides. 

Having finished their work, they bivouacked and feasted 
under as lovely an evening sky as fancy could paint. A 
sudden gust of wind, which bent the tall poplars like wands, 
cleared off the mosquitoes, and permitted them to enjoy a 
few hours of refreshing rest in the soft twilight ; for there 
was no longer any night in these regions. 

On the morning of the 10th they reached Great Slave 
Lake, and every eye was eagerly bent upon the horizon of 
that great inland sea, but to their chagrin they saw an 
unbroken line of ice barring their further progress. On 
advancing to its edge, it was found to be firm and solid, 
and likely to remain so for some time. There was nothing 
for it, however, but patience; so, calling as much of this 
virtue as they possessed to their assistance, they made their 
way to Fort Resolution that evening, by the help of canoes, 
and dragging the boat light over the shallows. From the 
10th to the 21st of June they were kept prisoners at this 
establishment, and amused themselves as they best could 
with dances and games. Wherever we go in this world 
we shall find something or other which will tend to elevate 
our eyebrows! and we doubt not that it will surprise our 
readers a little to learn, that the men of the expedition chose 
the hour of midnight for their out- door sport3 and games; 
this being the coolest and most agreeable part of the day! 
The dances were conducted in the most approved Indian 
style; venison and fish being the food, and tea the only 
beverage — the remnants of the supper being carried off by 
the ladies, at least by such of them as had an atom of mus- 
cular energy left in their dusky frames. Mr. Dease took 
the opportunity of vaccinating all the young people at the 
place; half-breeds and Indians, all underwent the operation, 
and felt the benefit of it in after years, when the smallpox 



j™ 7 T ] MACKENZIE RIVER DOG-RIBS. 329 

swept off the North American Indians by hundreds. The 
same benefit had been previously conferred upon the whole 
concourse of natives at Fort Chepewyan. 

The ice at length opened sufficiently on the 21st to enable 
them to advance ; and accordingly they set off once more, 
having embarked a cargo of twenty-one dogs in the Goliah. 
This was deemed a sufficient number of dogs for seven 
sledges. At midnight on the 24th they reached the head 
of the great Mackenzie River, and encamped upon its banks. 

The travelling here became pretty easy. The noble 
stream, on whose broad and rapid bosom they now floated, 
was so deep as to permit of their drifting down the current 
at night, instead of going on shore to encamp as heretofore, 
so that they made much more rapid progress; travelling, 
on one occasion, two hundred and fifty miles in forty-eight 
hours. Numerous camps of Dog-rib Indians were passed 
on the route, all of whom were exceedingly friendly, and 
testified the utmost delight at beholding white men. On 
the 1st of July they arrived at Fort Norman. Here the 
Goliah was despatched to the north-eastern extremity of 
Great Bear Lake, where winter quarters were to be estab- 
lished, in charge of John Ritch, a boat-builder, who took 
with him John Morquay, Lawrent Cartier, and Francois 
Framond, besides three Dog-ribs to guide them and com- 
plete the crew. The exploring party then made their final 
arrangements, before leaving Fort Norman, in the way of 
laying in provisions and a few trifles as presents to the 
Esquimaux on the coast. Three pounds of pemmican was 
the allowance to each man per day, and it was afterwards 
found that, although the provisions were used without any 
restriction, the average daily consumption had been exactly 
two pounds per man. The crews of the two boats consisted 
of twelve men, three of whom had accompanied Captain 
Back in 1834, and one had been with Franklin in 1826. 



330 TERRIFIC POWER OF THE ICE. [' 



July 
1S37. 



At sunset they left the fort, and descended the rapid 
stream, travelling, as usual, all night. On either hand 
rose the rocky mountains and the eastern hills, from whose 
snowy peaks the dazzling sunshine was brilliantly reflected. 
A few Hare Indians were seen fishing in the eddies along 
a part of the shore called the Ramparts. As soon as they 
observed the boats, they embarked in their small canoes, 
and followed them down the stream till they arrived at 
Fort Good Hope, where they were welcomed by a son- 
in-law of Mr. Dease. This establishment was entirely 
destroyed in June 1836, at the disruption of the ice, " which 
rushed down with such overwhelming force as to sweep 
almost completely over the island, though several miles in 
extent, cutting down the timber like grass before the scythe, 
and burying the place under two fathoms' water. The 
terrified residents took to their boat, and escaped, almost 
miraculously, into a small lake in the centre of the island. 
There the ruins of the overthrown wood averted the fury 
of the inundation, and in this place of refuge they remained, 
with ice tossed up in huge fragments, forming a gigantic 
wall around them, till the danger was past."* It is difficult 
to conceive of a position more terrible than that in w r hich 
these men were placed ; especially when w r e consider that 
the river in which the island stood was the deep, broad 
Mackenzie, whose rapid stream was at that time swelled 
into a roaring torrent by the melting snows of spring, which 
poured into it from every creek and crevice in its banks, 
while the masses of ice that rolled impetuously down the 
swollen current with irresistible force were nearly six feet 
thick ! 

There are few things in nature more awfully grand than 
the disruption of the ice near the mouths of the great 

* Simpson's Journal, p. 99. 



JJJJ] ESQUIMAUX LADIES. 331 

North American rivers that flow into the arctic seas. The 
rapidity with which the spring sets in converts the deep 
snows of winter so quickly into water, that the icy covering 
of the rivers, notwithstanding its great strength and thick- 
ness, is unable to withstand the tremendous pressure, and 
bursts at last with a crash that equals the thunder of the 
artillery of heaven and earth combined ,* and, carrying all 
before it, rushes towards the sea, tearing up the banks, 
sweeping completely over the smaller islands, grinding 
itself to atoms, and throwing up piles which seem as if they 
would rival the hills in height ; till, becoming top-heavy, 
and being pressed upon by the accumulating masses, they 
fall, with a fearful crash, into the boiling water. Sometimes 
the mouths of the rivers become choked with the ice, which 
then remains at rest, in all its broken, jagged, and fantastic 
shapes, even for two or three days, till the ever-increasing 
flood again asserts its superiority ; and, once more bursting 
the frozen barriers, sweeps it with irresistible violence into 
the ocean. 

After taking some observations, which gave the latitude 
66° 16' N., they took their final departure for the sea, and 
soon crossed the arctic circle. They were now approach- 
ing the Esquimaux country, and as these people have fre- 
quently proved to be a treacherous race, guns and ammu- 
nition were given to the men. On passing the mouth of 
Peel's River, the sun was seen at midnight, elevated more 
than his own diameter above the horizon. 

On Sunday the 9th, upon turning a sharp point, they 
came suddenly upon an Esquimaux oomiak, containing 
four women and a couple of dogs. No sooner did the ladies 
behold the unwonted apparition of two boats full of white 
men, than they threw off their coverings, leaped ashore, 
and fled through the willows with the utmost precipitation. 
Being under sail, and running before a good breeze, the 



3o2 BARTERING WITH THE NATIVES. [l83? 

boats passed on. The same evening they met with an old 
fellow in his canoe, who told them that it was he who 
interfered to stop the plunder of Franklin's party by his 
countrymen at Pillage Point. He was presented with an 
axe, a knife, and several other articles, besides a share of 
their repast ; but, notwithstanding the generosity of his 
entertainers, he was detected concealing a knife and fork in 
his breast, having previously secreted a tin dish among the 
willows. The old rascal only laughed on being found out, 
considering it, apparently, to be an excellent joke ! Im- 
mediately after parting with this inhabitant of the ice-bound 
north, the Arctic Ocean burst upon their view, and drew 
from them three hearty cheers. 

Scarcely had they floated upon the northern sea, when 
a band of its noisy inhabitants paddled up to the boats in 
their kayaks, shouting and gesticulating as they came. 
A few presents were distributed, which, however, instead 
of satisfying them, only made them more vociferous in their 
desire to barter. 

" One lively youngster," says Simpson, " attracted our 
notice by his activity in the noisy barter. He shot his 
arrows and lance repeatedly on the water to show us their 
excellence, at the same time shouting ' Neittuke ' and 
'Took-took' — the seal and rein-deer. On receiving a 
hatchet and some other things for his weapons, he beat 
upon his breast, laughed, whooped, and capered in the 
utmost extravagance of animal joy. He was afterwards 
employed by several of his less adroit friends to exchange 
their goods. A fine-looking young man, whose face was 
not disfigured by the labrets, was remarkable for his 
modesty, but did not fare the worse on that account. 
There was only one old man of the party. They appeared 
to us a stout, well-looking people, with complexions con- 
siderably fairer than the Indian tribes. Having finished 



JjJJ] ESQUIMAUX EEFEACTOEY. 333 

our transactions with them, and satisfied our curiosity, we 
told the strangers to return to their village ; upon which 
they gave us to understand that they wished to accompany 
us to our encampment, and to spend the evening in our 
society. To this, however, we had a decided objection. 
Already had they made several unsuccessful attempts to 
pilfer out of the boats; fresh numbers would soon have 
joined them, stimulated by the remembrance of their former 
success; and we had Escape Reef, and a shallow, bad 
navigation, before us. We therefore peremptorily ordered 
them back, but to no purpose. Two or three guns were 
shown, which alarmed them a little. They held up their 
hands deprecatingly, calling out ' Caw-caw ! ' — but per- 
sisted in following at a short distance, even after one or 
two blank shots, till I fired with ball over them ; upon 
which they instantly ducked their heads, veered round, and 
after paddling out of reach, halted to hold a consultation — 
more canoes now appearing in the distance. Thus delivered, 
we continued our course under sail, with a light, close 
wind, passing the reefs and shoals about four miles from 
the land, the weather dark and threatening. At ten o'clock 
a violent squall took us, and it was with the utmost exertion 
that we w T ere able to gain the shore at midnight."* 

This part of the coast proved to be a very interesting 
portion of their voyage — interesting, at least, in so far as 
dangers and adventures could make it. They had scarcely 
escaped the clutches of the Esquimaux and weathered the 
squall, when they reached the edge of the ice, which seemed 
to defy their further progress ; however, " we twisted and 
poled our way through it," says Simpson, " the transparent 
masses exhibiting every variety of fantastic shapes — altars, 
caverns, turrets, ships, crystal fabrics — which changed as 

* Simpson's Journal, pp. 109-111. 



334 DANGERS AND DIFFICULTIES. ElS37- 

we gazed upon them ; and often rolling over or breaking 
down, with a thundering noise, tossed our little boats on 
the swell caused by their fall. In the small open spaces, 
and on the floes, numberless seals were sporting ; one of 
which would every now and then follow in our wake, rising 
breast-high to gratify his curiosity, and then giving place 
to another." In the afternoon the ice blocked up the 
passage altogether, and they were under the unpleasant 
necessity of encamping on the bleak shores ; and there, 
while masticating their pemmican beside the fire, ruminated 
on the possibility of being detained until the season was 
far advanced. To add to their annoyance, a band of Esqui- 
maux found them out. They proved, however, to be much 
less troublesome than were their predecessors, and took their 
departure quietly in the evening, after they had twisted 
their greasy countenances into every variety of contortion, 
indicative of the quintessence of joy upon receiving a few 
presents. It is truly amusing to read of the delight of 
these poor creatures on receiving a gift of the most insig- 
nificant description. A few beads produce raptures ; a 
knife or an axe, unspeakable felicity ! 

While detained here, they made long excursions over 
the green hills, which were clothed with innumerable flowers, 
whose brilliant tints enriched the scene and furnished 
specimens for their botanical boxes. Their guns, too, were 
not silent on these occasions ; and oftentimes the echoes 
awoke to the unwonted sound, as the water-fowl flew past, 
unsuspecting, doubtless, the vicinity of blood-thirsty man 
in these cold, icy regions. A row of marks was observed 
extending across a point, evidently designed to lead the 
rein- deer to the edge of a steep bank ; over which, pursued 
by one party of hunters, they dash into the sea, where they 
fall an easy prey to another party stationed in canoes below. 

Beset by ice and tossed by storms, the party pursued their 



j^ 7 T ] BOATS BESET BY ICE. 335 

toilsome way along the coast. Sometimes they were 
detained by wind and weather — sometimes proceeded 
slowly, and at much hazard, through lanes of water in the 
ice ; often in the cold water all day, occasionally all night, 
and suffering all the time from severe colds brought on by 
their being so constantly wet ; but always in good spirits 
and determined to advance in spite of all difficulties. Indeed, 
it were vain to have attempted a voyage of discovery in 
such a land, unless the men composing the party were of 
that stamp who set difficulties at defiance, and rejoice in 
the midst of danger. In reading the interesting narratives 
of such men as Hearne, Mackenzie, and Franklin, we can- 
not but be struck by the indomitable energy, the untiring 
perseverance, which characterized not only the leaders, but 
the men who acted under them, in the face of difficulties 
apparently insurmountable. 

Dease and Simpson were not less resolute than those 
who had preceded them in arctic discovery. They pushed 
energetically through and over all obstructions. On one 
occasion, while beset by ice, they were tempted by the 
partial clearing away of the fog, which revealed some lanes 
of open water, to try once more to push forward ; but hardly 
had they advanced a few miles, when the wind rose, and 
blowing the ice together, placed them in great jeopardy. 
" The boats were repeatedly squeezed," says Simpson, 
" and mine, which was foremost, was only saved from 
entire destruction by throwing out everything it contained 
upon the floating masses. By means of portages made 
from one fragment to another, the oars forming the perilous 
bridges, and after repeated risks of boats, men, and baggage 
being separated by the motion of the ice, we at length 
succeeded, with infinite labour, in collecting our whole equi- 
page upon a small floe, which being partially covered with 
water, formed a sort of wet dock. There wc hauled up our 



336 RETURN REEF BEGIN DISCOVERIES. 



Jlt.t 

1837. 



little vessels, and momentarily liable as we were to be 
overwhelmed by the overturning of our icy support, trusted 
to a gracious Providence for the event. We were three 
miles from land ; the fog again settled round us, and the 
night was very inclement." 

On shore the Esquimaux continued to give them annoy- 
ance, keeping them constantly on the alert to guard 
against their unconquerable propensity to appropriate their 
neighbours' goods. On Sunday, the 23d of July, they 
reached the Return Reef of Franklin, from which point 
their discoveries began; and as they encamped on the 
shore, and looked anxiously out upon the unknown land 
before them, they offered their humble thanks to the 
Omnipotent Being whose arm had guarded them so far, 
and fervently implored a continuance of his gracious pro- 
tection. Simpson attributes their early arrival at this 
point to inflexible perseverance in doubling the great icy 
packs, any of which might have detained them a fortnight 
on the beach, had they waited for their breaking up. 

Their progress after this was somewhat more rapid. 
The land was generally very low, consisting of mud and 
gravel; but it is a curious fact, that not a rock or boulder- 
stone was seen during the whole journey, except one near 
an inlet not far from Point Barrow. A glimpse was ob- 
tained of a magnificent range of mountains, about fifty 
miles from Point Milne, which they named the Pelly Moun- 
tains — after the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. 
No chronometers had been furnished to the party by the 
company, but fortunately they obtained an excellent watch 
from one of the chief factors in the country, which answered 
their purpose almost equally well. Running along the 
coast, and naming the several bays and headlands as they 
passed, they arrived on the 24th at Point Comfort, so 
called in consequence of the satisfaction with which they 



JV 3 L 7 Y ] WINTRY SUMMER I 337 

partook of a warm supper round a cheerful fire after hav- 
ing fasted for twenty-five hours ; during which they had 
run nearly half-way between Return Reef and Point Bar- 
row. This was ascertained by an observation which a 
short glimpse of sunshine enabled them to take, and 
showed the latitude to be 70° 43' N., longitude 152° 14' 
W., variation 43° 8£' E. 

The country here, between the Pelly Mountains and the 
shore, consists of plains clothed with a very short grass 
and moss, the favourite pasture of rein-deer, of which large 
herds were frequently seen. The immediate coast-line 
is formed of frozen mud-banks, from ten to fifteen feet 
high. Several large rivers were passed, and named; and 
one of these, called after Nicholas Garry, Esq., is one 
mile wide at its mouth, the banks of which were thickly 
covered with drift timber, brought down the stream; and, 
though the tide was full, the water tasted fresh for several 
miles. 

Notwithstanding that it was the height of summer, the 
weather was bitterly cold. The spray froze on the oars 
and rigging, and the earth was impenetrably frozen at the 
depth of four inches, so that the tent pegs could not be 
driven home. Yet, even here, a few flowers raised their 
modest heads; with the frozen earth below, the bleak 
ocean and the cold icebergs around, and the bitter blasts, 
laden with the withering frost of these hyperborean climes, 
sweeping over them, they struggled for existence; their 
only comfort being an occasional ray of sunshine, which 
pierced the leaden clouds, and bathed their drooping petals 
in a cheering glow. Not unlike were they to many tender 
flowers of the human family, who struggle for a bare exist- 
ence in this frigid earth of ours, surrounded by the chilling 
atmosphere of apathy ; swept by the bitter winds of adver- 
sity, but gladdened sometimes by the Sun of Righteousness, 

Y 



338 PEDESTRIAN PARTY SETS OUT. [im. 

whose warm beams, piercing through the surrounding gloom, 
reminds them that the winter is passing and the summer 
drawing nigh; that the earth shall yet be bathed in light 
from pole to pole; that the desert shall rejoice and blossom 
as the rose. 

Dense fogs delayed the expedition very much during 
the whole voyage; and, in the middle of one of these, they 
reached a cape which appeared to be covered over with 
white tents. These turned out to be the points of a great 
many icebergs which towered over the land on the northern 
side of the point, which was named Cape George Simpson, 
after the resident-governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. 
It is situated in latitude 70° 59' N., longitude 154° 21' W. 
The rise of the tide here was ten inches, which, small though 
it was, enabled them to advance some distance ; but on the 
31st they found that their progress was so slow, and the 
ice in such great quantities, that it was resolved to give up 
the attempt to penetrate farther with the boats, and per- 
form the remainder of the journey to Point Barrow on foot. 
For this service Mr. Simpson volunteered, while Mr. Dease 
agreed to remain with some of the men in charge of the 
boat. As Point Barrow was now distant about two de- 
grees of longitude, ten or twelve days were considered 
sufficient to accomplish the distance and return. Five of 
the best men of the party were therefore selected for the 
journey; and at 8 a.m., on the 1st of August, they left the 
encampment. 

a My little party," says Simpson, " quitted Boat Ex- 
treme on foot at 8 a.m. Our provisions consisted of 
pemmican and flour ; besides which each man carried his 
blanket, spare shoes, gun, and ammunition. A single 
kettle and a couple of axes sufficed for us all ; and a few 
trinkets were added for the natives. I carried a sextant 
and artificial horizon; and one man was charged with a 



Aug. 

1837. 



MEET WITH ESQUIMAUX. 339 



canvass-canoe stretched on its wooden frame, which proved 
not the least important part of our arrangements. The 
whole amounted to forty or fifty pounds per man. * * * 
The day was dark and dismal in the extreme; a cutting 
north wind bearing on its wings a fog that hid every ob- 
ject at the distance of a hundred yards. We were therefore 
under the necessity of closely following the coast-line, which 
much increased the distance and fatigue." 

Slowly and with difficulty they pursued their way, 
winding out and in with every curvature of the coast, and 
crossing rivers and streams in their canvass-canoe — the 
water, through which they often waded, at the freezing 
point — the ground, on which they slept, hard and damp, 
and the dark sky their curtain. One evening, as they were 
slowly pushing their way over the muddy shore, the land 
turned off to the eastward of south, and a boundless inlet 
lay before them. At the same moment, to their inexpres- 
sible joy, their eyes fell upon four Esquimaux tents, round 
which the natives were moving ; but no sooner did they 
observe the white men approaching them, than they rushed 
incontinently into their canoes, and shoved out from the 
shore. A few conciliatory words, however, soon brought 
them back. They were chiefly women and children, the 
men being out hunting. 

From a sketch made by one of the most intelligent 
females, Mr. Simpson concluded that Point Barrow lay on 
the other side of the inlet; so, borrowing from the Esqui- 
maux one of their oomiaks, or women's boats, they em- 
barked in it and rowed out to sea. No sooner had they 
done so, than the east wind rose and brought back the fog, 
obliging them to direct their course by compass. The 
waves ran high, but the light boat surmounted them with 
wonderful buoyancy. On the opposite shore they en- 
camped, and spent the night under the oomiak, sleeping 



340 REACH POINT BARROW. [^ 

on ground which was frozen to within two inches of the 
surface. The inlet was named after Mr. Dease. 

On the morning of the 4th August, about one o'clock, 
they reached Elson Bay. The sun, which had shone but 
little upon them during the greater part of their journey, 
now broke forth in full splendour, and revealed to the 
delighted gaze of Mr. Simpson and his men, Point Barrow, 
stretching out to the northward. The goal that was to 
crown the enterprise was nearly won. Step by step the 
way had been traced between Return Reef and Elson Bay, 
and a few hours more would complete the survey. 

"We had now only to pass Elson Bay," says Simpson, 
" which is for the most part shallow. It was covered with 
a tough coat of young ice, through which we broke a 
passage, and then forced our way amid a heavy pack, 
nearly half a mile broad, that rested upon the shore. On 
reaching it, and seeing the ocean spreading far and wide 
to the south-west, we unfurled our flag, and, with three 
enthusiastic cheers, took possession of our discoveries in 
his Majesty's name." 

The first object that met their gaze here was an immense 
Esquimaux cemetery, where great numbers of dead bodies, 
covered with the seal-skin dresses which had clothed them 
when alive, lay exposed to the voracity of dogs and wild 
animals. So fresh were many of them, that the party were 
alarmed, lest the cholera or some other dire disease was 
raging among the natives. A village of Esquimaux was 
also observed not far from this place; and the loud huzzas 
that greeted the planting of the British standard on their 
inhospitable shores, brought them out of their tents in a 
state of great trepidation and amazement. Like their 
countrymen to the west, they were soon reassured, by 
Simpson advancing with four of his men and calling out 
that their visit was a friendly one. One man was left with 






W3?!] RENCONTRE WITH NATIVES. 341 

the canoe to guard it. After a little animated barter, the 
party returned to the canoe, followed by the whole village; 
and after the bartering was concluded, and a large supply 
of seal-skin boots, jackets, &c. obtained, the Esquimaux 
ladies treated the Avhite men to a dance; in which, however, 
elegance of motion was not displayed in a very high degree 
of perfection. 

While they were thus pleasantly occupied, Mr. Simpson 
took an observation, which placed the Point in 71° 23' 33" 
north latitude, and 156° 20' 0" west longitude. 

Although the natives seemed friendly, a strict watch was 
kept upon the things in the canoe ; but, upon going down 
to embark, the oars were not to be found. They were 
restored, however, after some trouble, and the party finally 
left Point Barrow on their return to Boat Extreme ; their 
only regret being that there was nothing more to discover ! 

On reaching the camp of the Esquimaux who had lent 
them the oomiak, they re-borrowed it for the purpose of 
rowing round to Boat Extreme, and engaged four of their 
men to accompany them, so as to take back the canoe. At 
Point Tangent, however, they refused to go farther, and 
determined to remain with several of their friends whom 
they found encamped there, demanding an axe for the canoe. 
" I immediately," says Simpson, " gave them one of our 
axes, together with all the tobacco we had left; and my 
bowman was in the act of shoving off, when the strangers, 
nine in number, seized the canoe with the intention of 
dragging it ashore. On my pointing my gun at them they 
desisted ; but, quick as thought, they snatched their bows 
and quivers, expecting to take us by surprise. When, 
however, they saw the whole crew ready for the combat, 
they lowered their tone of defiance ; and I remarked with 
a smile, that, as sometimes happens in more civilized com- 
munities, the most blustering, turbulent fellow was the first 



342 REACH WINTER QUARTERS. [ ^g|£ 

to show the white feather. * * * When the threatened 
fray was blown over, I explained, as well as I could, to the 
aggressors, that the visit and intentions of the whites were 
altogether friendly; but we parted in mutual distrust." 

On the following morning, at five o'clock, the pedestrians 
rejoined their comrades at Boat Extreme, and the re-united 
party, turning their boats' heads to the eastward, retraced 
their route to the Mackenzie. 

Our limits will not permit us to detail their return jour- 
ney up the Mackenzie to winter quarters at Great Bear 
Lake, which occupied them during the month of August and 
the greater part of September. Their progress was as 
tedious as heretofore ; ice, "wind, rain, and natives combin- 
ing to interrupt and detain them. On the 28th August 
they reached Fort Good Hope, where their party was plea- 
santly increased by the wife, niece, and grand- daughter of 
Mr. Dease. 

Leaving this post, they proceeded on their way up the 
rapid Mackenzie, and arrived at Fort Norman, where they 
received despatches from England, and answered them; 
after which they proceeded to Great Bear Lake, picking 
up the batteaux and hunters with their outfit on the way. 
The whole of this part of the journey was excessively 
stormy, and everything gave indication of the approach of 
an arctic winter. The magnificent sheet of water, on whose 
shores they were to spend so many dreary months, was 
reached on the 14th September, and presented a black, frown- 
ing surface, under the influence of a stiff easterly breeze. 
Several showers of snow fell while they crossed its stormy 
waves, and proved to be the first white coat of permanent 
snow that clothed the country till the following spring. 

On the 25th the establishment was reached ; and then it 
was found that the party which had been sent to build the 
fort had been delayed so much by ice in the lake, that they 



?637-" ] PREPARATIONS FOR THE WINTER. 343 

did not arrive at the appointed wintering ground till the 
17th of August; consequently, all that presented itself to 
the gaze of the weary travellers was, a small store, and 
the skeleton of a dwelling-house ! Thankful, however, to 
have at last reached the end of their journeying for the 
present, they hailed its appearance with delight ; and, with 
feelings of sincere gratitude to their Almighty Protector, 
named their infant establishment Fort Confidence. It was 
situated in latitude 66° 53' 36" N., longitude 118° 48' 45'' 
W. " The situation judiciously chosen for the establish- 
ment was a wooded point, on the northern side of a deep 
and narrow strait formed by a large island. It commands 
a fine view of the lake to the east and west, and the rocks 
form a natural landing-place for the boats at the very door." 
Here, then, they prepared to spend the long, long winter, 
in a small wooden hut, thousands of miles from the haunts 
of civilized men j provided with but a slender stock of pro- 
visions, and dependent for food, to a great extent, on the 
activity and friendship of Indian hunters. Unfortunately, 
they found on their arrival that most of these poor men were 
laid up with influenza ; and, so far from being of any assist- 
ance to them, proved, at least for a long period, to be a 
burden. " To commence a winter," says Simpson, "within 
the arctic circle, with a considerable party destitute of pro- 
visions, and the Indians, upon whom we mainly depended 
for subsistence, requiring our aid and support, was an alarm- 
ing condition, which demanded the utmost exertion of our 
personal resources." Accordingly, Mr. Simpson exchanged 
his sextant and astronomical instruments for the gun and 
snow shoes, and personally led the Indians in the chase ; 
crossing the rugged barren grounds after the rein-deer ; 
stretching beside the red men at nights by the camp-fire on 
the snow, without any other protection from the weather 
than w r as afforded by a slight tent made of skins, and the 



344 DEER HUNTING. [ OC 1837.° V ' 

deer- skin that he used as a blanket. He also visited the sick 
in their encampments, to administer medicine, and cheer 
them in their distress. During these excursions he was 
pretty successful in obtaining rein- deer, which were not 
scarce, although somewhat difficult to approach, owing to 
their keeping long in the open grounds. " Our tents," 
says he, " were usually pitched in the last of the stunted 
straggling woods, whence we issued out at daybreak among 
the bare snowy hills of the 'barren grounds,' where the 
deer could be distinguished a great way off, by the contrast 
of their dun colour with the pure white of the boundless 
waste. * * * On one occasion I witnessed an extra- 
ordinary instance of affection in these timid creatures. 
Having brought down a fine doe at some distance, I was 
running forward to despatch her with my knife, when a 
handsome young buck bounded up, and raised his fallen 
favourite with his antlers. She went a few paces, and 
fell; again he raised her, and continued wheeling round 
her, till a second ball — for hunger is ruthless — laid him 
dead at her side." As the winter advanced, however, they 
managed, by unremitting perseverance in the chase, to 
accumulate a sufficient quantity of food to enable them to 
keep a week's supply always in store. 

The cold, as usual in these climes, was very intense. 
The lowest point to which the thermometer fell was 60° 
below zero on the 11th of February. All the streams 
flowing into Great Bear Lake were frozen to the bottom, 
and Simpson mentions casting a pistol bullet of quick- 
silver, when the thermometer stood at 49° below zero, 
which he fired through an inch plank. From the 17th 
of October till the 24th April the temperature never rose 
to the freezing point — a period of six months and a 
week — the mean temperature for the whole winter being 
14° below zero. During forty-three days of this dismal 



Dec. 

1837. 



DEATH OF A VOYAGEUR. 345 



period the sun did not rise over a small hill which stood in 
front of the fort. 

The winter packet, in these solitary regions so ardently 
longed for, and the contents of which are so fervently 
gloated over, arrived on the 29th December, in charge of a 
Canadian, whose comrade had perished by the way. They 
had left Fort Norman in a small canoe, but were soon set 
fast by ice, and finally abandoned her, and took to their 
snow shoes. Soon, however, poor Taylor, who was affected 
with a pulmonary complaint, began to complain of weak- 
ness ; upon which his friend, Le Sourd, with considerate 
kindness, carried his provisions and spare clothing. At 
last he became unable to walk farther, and Le Sourd made 
a comfortable encampment, in which he tended his dying 
companion ; and, when he expired, carefully laid his body 
in a grave, made by thawing the frozen earth with fire. 
He even placed, with Indian superstition, a valuable gun, 
that the grateful sufferer had given him, beside the remains 
of its former owner. After performing this act of kind- 
ness to his deceased companion, he pursued his solitary way 
to Fort Confidence. 

During the whole winter divine service was pei-formed 
on Sabbath, at which all the people regularly attended; and 
the few books that they had with them were diligently 
perused, while the monotony of their life was occasionally 
relieved by the arrival of Indians, sometimes with pro- 
visions, but oftener for them. Among others, a family 
arrived, the youngest member of which, a boy scarcely 
two years old, and still unweaned, walked on snow shoes ! 
and this precocious piece of copper-coloured humanity not 
only used the snow shoes from necessity, but rejoiced in 
them to such an extent that he began to bellow lustily when 
his mother attempted to take them from him. Towards 
the end of winter Indians flocked in greater numbers than 



346 PLEASURES OF SPRING. [mi. 

ever to the fort, in a state of starvation. One poor, old 
blind man was hauled there on a sledge, or led -with a 
string, and sometimes carried by his wife and daughter. 

May — bright, warm May, the month of flowers and glad 
sunshine — opened upon the dwellers in arctic land, as upon 
the inhabitants of the sunny south; but it came not in 
" with flowers." The only flowers to be seen there were 
those traced by the frost on the window-panes ; while the 
thermometer stood at zero! The snow-clad earth, the 
wintry sky, the lurid sun, were still unchanged; but 
about the beginning of June the genius of the spring began 
to put forth his power. His warm fingers touched the 
land, and straightway the snows melted, the rivers flowed, 
the lakes burst their icy coats, the ducks and geese and 
all the wild denizens of the marshes began to arrive from 
the regions of the south ; supplying the hitherto scantily 
furnished tables of the party, and filling the surrounding 
air with wild harmony. Smile not, gentle reader, at the 
idea of harmony in the hoarse cries or the wild cackling 
of geese or ducks. Hadst thou spent nine long, dreary 
months in a land of solitude, where no sound broke upon 
the ear save the howling of the arctic storm, or the sighing 
of thine own voice, or the hoarse croak of an adventurous 
raven, the trumpet tones of the Canada goose and the 
plaintive cry of wild-fowl would sound as music in thine 
unaccustomed ear! 

It will be remembered that Governor Simpson's instruc- 
tions to the leaders of the expedition enjoined them to 
devote their second summer in the north to the exploring 
of the coast from Franklin's farthest — Point Turnagain — 
eastward to the mouth of the Thlew-ee-choh; or as much 
farther as they thought proper to advance. Accordingly, 
on the 6th of June 1838, they started to cross over the 
land that separated them from the Coppermine River, down 



June 

1838. 



BOATS SAILING ON THE ICE. 347 



which they purposed to descend to the sea. During this 
journey, about one hundred miles of unexplored coast 
was traced by Mr. Simpson and a party on foot ; the boats 
being set fast by ice near Point Turnagain. As, however, 
the greater part of their route on this occasion was ground 
which had been traversed by former explorers, we shall 
merely glance at a few of the more interesting events that 
occurred by the way. 

Leaving Ritch, one of the men, in charge of Fort Con- 
fidence, they commenced the ascent of Dease River in their 
two boats, which were manned by four men each — two others 
having been sent forward some days' journey to watch a 
quantity of provisions which they were to pick up in pass- 
ing. The water, in which they had often to walk waist 
deep, was bitterly cold, and laden with ice, which rose in 
blue walls on either side of them. Not unfrequently these 
masses came tumbling down with great violence; and, on 
one occasion, a ponderous mass of snow fell from the banks 
so close to the boats as nearly to swamp them. The river 
was at length safely ascended, and, after making a portage 
of six miles long, they arrived at the Dismal Lakes. 
Dismal, indeed, did these lakes seem, covered as they were 
entirely over with the thick and still unbroken coat of win- 
ter. Although the rivers break up early in spring, owing 
to the sudden flush of water caused by the melting snow, 
the lakes are much longer of delivering themselves from 
the bondage of winter, as the ice does not give way until 
thoroughly decayed; but this was well known to the party, 
and they had provided for emergencies of the kind. Two 
stout iron-shod sledges were placed under the boats, which 
were then dragged on the ice ; a rope was fixed to their 
bows which the crews laid hold of; the sails were set, the 
colours hoisted, and away they went over the frozen lake 
at the rate of two miles an hour, to the inexpressible sur- 



348 MUSK-OX KILLED. [J™* 

prise of a band of natives, who happened to be in the 
neighbourhood when they arrived. In this curious way 
they proceeded till a stream of open water enabled them 
once more to commit the boats to their native element. 

At the Dismal Lake portage, Mr. Simpson came upon 
a white wolf's den, where were four fine pups. Without 
asking their mother's permission, he took possession of them, 
intending to send them to Fort Confidence by the Indians. 
Their dam, attracted by their cries, rushed to the rescue, 
and was shot, while the more cowardly male contented 
himself with howling all night on a neighbouring emi- 
nence. 

Deer and musk-oxen were numerous. One of the latter, 
which was espied by the quick- sighted hunters among the 
willows, was fired at several times without effect, when he 
started off in the direction of the boats ; but, stumbling into 
a deep creek, swam out into the river, where he was 
wounded in the act of crossing. The animal instantly 
turned about and endeavoured to climb the bank where 
they stood, his eyes darting fire, and his nostrils distended 
with pain and rage; but ere he ascended it many steps, 
several well-aimed bullets stretched him lifeless on the 
ground. 

On arriving at the Coppermine River, which they reached 
on the 20th of June, they found it still frozen over, and 
were detained a couple of days on its banks, after which a 
narrow stream opened in the centre of it. Into thi3 they 
launched, and swept rapidly down the swollen tide. Much 
difficulty was experienced in avoiding the huge masses 
of ice, which, having now become thoroughly broken up 
by the rising of the spring floods, descended with great 
impetuosity, as if resolved to dispute with them the 
passage to the sea. " Shortly before noon," says Simpson, 
" we came in sight of Escape Rapid of Franklin, and a 



X83S 5 ] PERILOUS DESCENT OF THE COPPERMINE, 349 

glance at the overhanging cliff's told us that there was no 
alternative but to run down with full cargo. In an instant 
we were in the vortex; and, before we were aware, my 
boat was borne towards an isolated rock, which the boiling 
surge almost concealed. To clear it on the outside was 
no longer possible ; our only chance of safety was to run 
between it and the lofty eastern cliff. The word was 
passed, and every breath was hushed. A stream, which 
dashed down upon us over the brow of the precipice more 
than a hundred feet in height, mingled with the spray that 
whirled upwards from the rapid, forming a terrific shower- 
bath. The pass was about eight feet wide, and the error 
of a single foot on either side would have been instant 
destruction. As, guided by Sinclair's consummate skill, 
the boat shot safely through those jaws of death, an in- 
voluntary cheer arose." 

After a rough and hazardous journey, they reached the 
sea- coast at the beginning of July, having been detained 
five days by ice at the Bloody Fall. Here, however, a 
gloomy prospect opened upon them. Ice lay in thick 
masses all along the coast and far out to sea, and they 
were compelled to wait as patiently as they could for its 
disruption. When Captain Franklin reached the same 
spot, twenty days later in the season in 1821, he found a 
clear sea — so greatly do the seasons vary in these uncertain 
climes. This unfortunate state of the coast Mr. Simpson 
attributes to the calmness of the season — rain and tempest 
being, in his opinion, the most favourable accompaniments 
of arctic discovery. 

"With the utmost difficulty they reached a small bay on 
the 9th of August, which they called Boathaven, and which 
is situated about three miles west of Point Turnagain. 
Here they were detained till the 19th, and at last, finding 
that there was no chance of doing more that season with 



350 MR. SIMPSON AND PARTY PROCEED ON FOOT. [JgJ 

the boats, Mr. Simpson set off for ten days to the eastward, 
on foot, accompanied by seven of the men. Each man 
carried a load weighing about half a hundredweight, which 
consisted of food, blankets, cooking utensils, a canvass- canoe, 
tent, &c. ; in short, as Simpson says, their " food, lodging, 
bedding, arms, and equipage.' 7 The walking proved to be 
very fatiguing, owing to the softness of the ground in many 
places, and one or two of the men began to knock up 
before the termination of the journey. They persevered, 
however, and succeeded in tracing about a hundred miles 
of the coast eastward of Point Turnagain. 

The coast was generally of the same low and swampy 
character, intersected here and there by streams of various 
sizes. Fortunately the weather continued clear during the 
whole time, enabling Mr. Simpson to take repeated obser- 
vations, and lay down the coast very correctly. An exten- 
sive line of coast, seen to the north, was named after 
Queen Victoria, and an elevated cape on which they stood 
was called Cape Alexander, after a brother of the adven- 
turous discoverer. From this cape, situated in latitude 68° 
56' N., longitude 106° 40' W., an extensive open sea was 
seen, rolling its free waves at their feet and beyond the 
reach of vision to the eastward. On the 25th they reached 
a small stream, whose waters ran into a bay of such extent, 
that it was deemed prudent to terminate their journey here 
for the present, the more especially that their time was 
expired. The stream was called the Beaufort, and the lati- 
tude of the place was 68° 43' 39" N., longitude 106° 3' 0" 
W., and variation 60° 38' 23" E. 

A pillar being erected, the Union Jack hoisted, and the 
country taken possession of in her Majesty's name, the 
party then retraced their steps to Boathaven, where they 
arrived in safety; and, re-embarking in the boats, com- 
menced the ascent of the Coppermine. The ascent was 



1»3& ] WINTER AGAIN AT FORT CONFIDENCE. 351 

found to be very laborious; but, after running many risks 
and making many hair- breadth escapes, they happily 
arrived, through the preserving goodness of God, at Fort 
Confidence, on the 14th of September, having left the boats 
on the banks of the Coppermine. 

At Fort Confidence they spent the winter of 1838-9 in 
much the same routine as before. Although much had 
been accomplished during the summer, it was but a small 
portion of what they had hoped to achieve; so, having 
permission from the governor to devote another summer 
to the same object, they resolved to do so, and made the 
requisite preparations accordingly. A great accession was 
made to the expedition towards spring in the person of 
Ooligbuck, the Esquimaux interpreter who had accompanied 
Franklin in a former expedition. 

During the winter, starvation again stared them in the 
face, and the poor natives, who seem to lead a truly miserable 
life in those inhospitable realms, were constantly throwing 
themselves for the means of subsistence on the generosity 
of their white brothers, who could ill afford them such 
assistance. Towards spring, however, things improved. 
Deer became more plentiful, and fish were taken in the 
nets. In June the frost entirely gave way ; the tempera- 
ture at mid-day was sometimes up to 70° in the shade, 
causing the snow to melt, the brooks to run, the willows to 
bud forth, and the birds to sing, or, at least, to pour forth 
the wild notes and cries which constitute the songs of the 
tuneless feathered tribes of America. The genial influence 
of the weather had its effect too upon the lonely, but ever 
cheerful, party at Fort Confidence. The men, and even 
the Indians, amused themselves with out-of-door games, of 
which foot-ball seemed to be the favourite; and Mr. Dease r s 
violin, oftener than heretofore, sent its thrilling tones 
through the hearts of the whole party, causing them to 



352 FISHING SALMON AT THE BLOODY FALL. [issS 

shake the entire fabric of the fort as they vigorously danced 
and capered about in the hall. 

On the 15th of June they started on foot for the place 
where they had left the boats at the Coppermine, with 
renovated hopes and thankful hearts, resolved to try their 
fortunes a third time on the Polar Sea. 

Their second descent of the Coppermine was accomplished 
without much difficulty; but the sea, which they reached 
on the 24th, was found quite solid. It was therefore 
resolved that Mr. Simpson should examine Richardson's 
River, while the rest of the party remained at the Bloody 
Fall. During their detention at this place, the men amused 
themselves by angling. Like everything else in these 
extraordinary regions, this was conducted in a somewhat 
outlandish manner. The setting- poles, with which they 
were in the habit of pushing the boats against the roaring 
torrents, were converted into ponderous fishing-rods ; and 
with hooks baited with fat meat, they succeeded in luring 
to their destruction several arctic salmon, in the boiling 
eddies at the foot of the fall. Throughout the country 
generally, the fish display a singular indifterence to the 
clumsiness of the tackle with which they are tempted. 
River trout are often caught with large cod hooks, converted 
into flies by means of a duck's feather and a thread of a 
scarlet worsted belt, the rod being a stout branch of a tree, 
and the line a bit of coarse twine ! We need scarcely add 
that the anglers do not play their fish. 

Emerging from the Coppermine on the 3d of July, 
their first day's progress was only five miles, the first 
week's but twenty; and it was the 18th ere they reached 
Cape Barrow. Running betore a fresh breeze off the land, 
they made Cape Franklin on the 20th, just one month 
earlier than on the previous summer; and instead of a sea 
covered with an unbroken sheet of ice, as it was then, they 



AjS'l EASTERN SEA DISCOVERED. 353 



1S39 



found an open channel, nearly two miles wide, extending 
all along the main shore. On the 27th they reached the 
point where their discoveries had terminated in 1838; 
and, putting ashore to exhume the portable canoe which 
had been buried there, entered upon ground till then 
untrodden by the foot of civilized man. 

From the Minto group of islands, seen by Mr. Simpson 
the previous season, a view of the coast was obtained. It 
was bold, rocky, and indented; running far away to the 
south, and skirted by numerous islands. These latter, from 
their numbers, continued to perplex them during the greater 
part of their voyage. As they proceeded, threading their 
tortuous way among islands and round bays and points, the 
coast gradually lost its bold character, becoming low and 
stony; obliging them to ascend every little eminence to 
prevent their being involved in its intricacies. The weather 
was often foggy and always variable — one peculiar feature 
in its variableness being, that it usually turned from bad to 
worse; but, with bold hearts and strong muscles, they 
pursued their way, until, on the 1 1 th of August, they pene- 
trated a strait through which the tide rushed with such 
force as to leave no longer any room to doubt the neighbour- 
hood of an open sea leading to the mouth of Back's Great 
Fish River. From an eminence here Mr. Simpson first 
beheld this much- desired eastern sea. 

" That glorious sight," says he, " was first beheld by 
myself from the top of the high limestone islands. 
The joyful news was soon conveyed to Mr. Dease, who 
was with the boats at the end of the island, about half a 
mile off ; and even the most desponding of our people for- 
got, for the time, the great distance we should have to 
return to winter quarters." Point Seaforth, the eastern 
outlet of this remarkable strait, is situated in latitude 
68° 32' N., longitude 97° 35' W. 



354 REACH POINT OGLE. [^ 

At this place they were visited with one of the most 
terrific thunderstorms they ever experienced. Travelling 
onwards as rapidly as the weather would allow, they 
reached Back's Point Ogle on the 13th of August, where, 
directed by M'Kay, they found the two bags of pemmican, 
several pounds of chocolate, two canisters of gunpowder, 
and a box of percussion caps, which had been deposited 
there by their enterprising predecessor five years before ! 
The pemmican was alive! and the chocolate rotten; never- 
theless, enough of it was extracted to produce a kettle-full, 
wherewith the men celebrated the grand event of the day. 

All the objects for which the expedition was undertaken 
had now been accomplished; but Messrs. Dease and Simp- 
son were not quite satisfied. They had determined the 
northern limits of America to the westward of the Thlew- 
ee-choh ; but it still remained a question, whether Boothia 
Felix might not be united to the continent to the east of 
that river. The men were therefore summoned, and the 
importance of proceeding some distance farther explained 
to them, when they agreed to advance without a murmur. 

On the evening of the 16th they crossed over the river's 
wide mouth. " It was a lovely night," says Simpson. 
" The fury of the north lay chained in repose. The Harp, 
the Eagle, the Charioteer, and many other bright constella- 
tions, gemmed the sky, and sparkled on the waters, while 
the high Polar Star seemed to crown the glorious vault 
above us." A six hours' pull brought them to a bluff 
cape, from which Mr. Simpson, who climbed to its summit, 
saw the coast turn sharply and decidedly eastward; while 
round to the north-west stretched a sea free from all ice, 
and devoid of all land, except what looked like two very 
distant islands. The point was named Cape Britannia. 

The wind now began to prove adverse, and on the 19th 
they were almost tempted to give up farther advance as 



iJg'] RESOLVE TO RETURN. 355 

hopeless, when the land suddenly turned more towards the 
north-east; so, hoisting their sail, they made a fine run 
of thirty miles, and landed at 4 p.m. to breakfast, on a 
cape which was named Cape Selkirk. They then advanced 
six miles farther; but after being buffeted by wind and 
waves, and making very little progress, they were com- 
pelled to take shelter in a small river, which they named, 
after their boats, the Castor and Pollux River. 

It now became quite evident that the time was come for 
commencing their return to the distant Coppermine; so 
orders were given to the men to erect a pillar in com- 
memoration of their visit, while the two leaders walked to 
an eminence three miles off, whence they saw the coast 
trending off more to the right. Far without lay several 
lofty islands, and in the north-east, more distant still, 
appeared some high blue land, which was designated Cape 
Sir John Ross, and was supposed to be the southern shores 
of Boothia. The latitude of their farthest encampment is 
68° 28' 23" N., longitude 94° 14' W., variation 16° 20' 
W. They turned their faces once more homewards on 
the 21st of August. 

The stormy winds, which obstinately resisted their pro- 
gress to the eastward, lent wings to their retreat. Point 
after point, bay after bay, were rapidly passed and left 
behind. Crossing over to Victoria Land, they explored a 
hundred miles of its coast, denominating the eastern and 
western visible extremes respectively Point Back and 
Point Parry; then, recrossing the strait and continuing 
their voyage along the main, they finally reached the 
mouth of the Coppermine on the 16th of September, in a 
bitter frost, and the surrounding country covered with 
snow, after by far the longest voyage ever performed in 
boats on the Polar Sea, the distance they had gone being 
not less than 1408 geographical, or 1631 statute miles. 



356 GRIZZLY EEAR. [^gj 

The Coppermine was ascended in safety, the only thing 
of an unusual kind that they saw being a huge grizzly 
bear, to which Mr. Dease and Mr. Simpson gave chase, 
and fired several shots without effect. The monster's foot- 
prints in the snow measured fifteen inches by six ! 

This is the most formidable animal of the American 
continent. When full-grown, it equals in size the large 
polar bears, and is not only more active, but of a fiercer 
and more vindictive disposition. Its strength is so great 
that it will drag the carcass of a buffalo, weighing a thou- 
sand pounds. The following story of its prowess is well 
authenticated : — A party of voyageurs had been occupied 
all day in tracking a canoe up the Saskatchewan, and had 
seated themselves round a fire in the evening. They were 
engaged in the agreeable task of preparing their supper, 
when a huge grizzly bear sprang over the canoe, which 
they had tilted behind them, and seizing one of the party 
by the shoulder, carried him off. The remainder fled in 
terror, with the sole exception of a metif named Bourasso, 
who, grasping his gun, followed the bear, as it was delibe- 
rately retreating with the man in its mouth. He called out 
to his unfortunate comrade that he was afraid of hitting him 
if he fired at the bear ; but the latter entreated him to fire 
instantly, because the animal was squeezing him to death. 
On this he took a steady aim, and lodged a ball in the 
body of the brute, which immediately dropped its original 
prey, that it might revenge itself upon Bourasso. He 
escaped, however, and the bear soon after retreated into a 
thicket, where they were too happy to let him lie unmo- 
lested. The rescued man had his arm fractured, and was 
otherwise severely bitten, but he ultimately recovered. 

Dr. Richardson tells us that a man is now living, in the 
vicinity of Edmonton House, who was attacked by a grizzly 
bear, which suddenly sprang out of a thicket, and scalped 



lm] ANECDOTES OF THE GRIZZLY BEAR. 357 

him by a single scratch of his tremendous claws, laying 
bare the skull, and pulling down the skin of the forehead 
quite over his eyes. Assistance being at hand, the beast 
was driven off; but the unfortunate man, although his life 
was saved, never recovered his sight after the event. 

Mr. Drummond, who made a botanical trip to the Rocky 
Mountains, frequently met with these disagreeable com- 
panions. When he happened unintentionally to come 
suddenly upon them, they would rear themselves upright 
on their hind legs, and utter a loud, harsh, and rapid 
breathing. From what is known of the habits of these 
animals, it is certain that, had he lost his presence of 
mind and attempted to flee, he would have been pursued,, 
overtaken, and torn to pieces. But the bold Forfar-man 
stood his ground to an inch, and beating a huge botanical 
box, made of tin, his discordant music so astounded the 
grizzly monsters, that, after eyeing the Scottish Orpheus 
for a few minutes, they generally wheeled to the right- 
about, and galloped away. On one occasion he observed 
a male caressing a female, and soon after the couple came 
towards him, but whether by accident or design, he was 
uncertain. However, he thought there was no great harm 
in climbing a tree ; and as the female drew near, he very 
ungallantly fired at and mortally wounded her. As usual 
in such cases, she uttered some loud screams, which threw 
the male into a most furious rage, and he reared himself 
up against the trunk of the tree on which Mr. Drummond 
was perched. Fortunately, it is so ordained that grizzly 
bears either can't or won't climb; and the female in the 
meantime having retired to a short distance, lay down, 
while the male, following to condole with her, was also 
shot. 

Winter had fairly set in ere the expedition reached the 
head of the Coppermine, which they did on the 20th, and 



358 FORT CONFIDENCE CONSIGNED TO DESTRUCTION. [%H, 

then proceeded across the country on foot to Fort Con- 
fidence, where they arrived in safety on the 24th of Sep- 
tember, just as the shades of night were casting their sable 
mantle over the wintry scene. 

Here, however, they were not to rest. The little fort 
in which they had, through the goodness of God, success- 
fully struggled through so many dreary months, was to 
be abandoned; and the scene that ensued soon after their 
arrival was at once amusing and sad. " I despair," says 
Simpson, " of conveying an idea of the scene enacted by the 
natives during the two following days, which were occu- 
pied in settling with them, and packing up our own goods. 
They hurried in from all quarters ; and as everybody 
wanted everything, the distribution of our commodities was 
rather a difficult problem. As for the clamour of young 
and old, Bedlam itself cannot match the ordeal we under- 
went. * * * Our spare guns, kettles, ironwork, 
dogs, and sledges, were given to the most deserving. All 
were furnished with ammunition, for hunting their way to 
the regular trading-posts on the Mackenzie. Our old 
clothes graced the persons of our young fellow-travellers; 
and last, not least, the whole assemblage was abundantly 
fed. In the afternoon of the 26th this noisy scene was 
brought to a close, and we took a last leave of Fort Con- 
fidence. Larocque Maccaconce, and some of the old men 
and youths who had been most about us, appeared afftcted 
as we shook hands with them ; but all the rest were too 
busily engaged in rifling our forlorn abode to notice our 
departure. Even before finally quitting the house, the 
parchment windows were cut out by the women and chil- 
dren; the legs of the few miserable chairs and tables were 
torn off; and by the time we were out of sight, I verily 
believe that not a single nail remained undrawn, or a scrap 
of any sort unappropriated, on the premises." 



Feb. 

1840. 



MR. SIMPSON RETURNS TO RED RIVER. 359 



In concluding this sketch of Messrs. Dease and Simp- 
son's expedition, we think it right to give a brief account 
of the early and violent death of the spirited young man 
to whose energy and perseverance its successful termination 
must be partly attributed. 

After leaving Fort Confidence, Mr. Simpson proceeded 
to Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie, and thence, over the 
country on foot, to Ked River settlement, at which place 
he arrived on the 2d February 1840, having traversed 
1910 miles on foot in sixty-one days. 

At Great Slave Lake, Mr. Simpson drew up a plan for 
an expedition to complete the survey of the coast between 
the extreme east of the discoveries of 1839, and the Straits 
of the Fury and Hecla, which he transmitted to the direc- 
tors of the Hudson's Bay Company in London; at the 
same time offering to assume the command of the expedi- 
tion without a moment's respite. At Red River he anxi- 
ously waited for letters in reply, which would authorize 
him to undertake it ; but in consequence of his despatches 
not having reached England in time to be acknowledged 
by the spring canoes, he received no communication 
from the directors. Deeply disappointed at this, and un- 
willing to remain idly at Red River for a year until his 
offer could be accepted, he resolved to proceed to Eng- 
land. 

With this end in view, he left Red River settlement 
on the 6th of June, intending to cross the prairies to 
St. Peter's, on the Mississippi, and proceed thence to Eng- 
land. 

On leaving the settlement he was accompanied by a 
party of settlers and half breeds ; but becoming impatient 
of their slow movements, he started ahead with four men. 
He travelled with great rapidity, as was learned from a 
chart, which was found with his other papers after his 



360 MELANCHOLY DEATH OF MR. THOMAS SIMPSON. [ jJJJ 

death; on which their day's journey on the 11th of June 
was traced as forty- seven miles in a straight line. 

" Subsequent to that date," writes Mr. Alexander Simp- 
son in his brief memoir of his brother's life, " every circum- 
stance is involved in mystery. All that can be ascertained 
with certainty is, that, on the afternoon of the 13 th or 
14th of June, Mr. Simpson shot two of his companions ; 
that the other two mounted their horses and rejoined the 
larger party, a part of which went to the encampment 
where Mr. Simpson was alone, on the next morning ; and 
that Mr. Simpson's death then took place. Whether he 
shot these men in self-defence, and was subsequently put 
to death by their companions ; or whether the severe stretch 
to which his faculties had been subjected for several years 
brought on a temporary hallucination of mind, under the 
influence of which the melancholy tragedy took place, is 
known only to God and to the surviving actors in that 
tragedy." 

Many different opinions exist on this point ; some think- 
ing that Mr. Simpson committed suicide, while others 
maintain that he must have been murdered by his half- 
breed companions. The latter opinion is more generally 
received, as the half-breeds are a fierce, vindictive race, 
and Mr. Simpson had incurred their animosity, some years 
before, by inflicting a chastisement on one of them who 
grossly insulted him. But whether by his own hand, or 
that of an assassin, the young traveller's short but brilliant 
career terminated thus violently in the wilderness, and hi3 
body now rests in the distant settlement on the borders of 
the wide and lonely prairie. 



1846.] NEW EXPEDITION. 361 

CHAPTEE VII. 

Recent Discoveries. 
Expedition of Dr. Eae, 1846-7. 

The stormy shores of the Arctic Sea had now been surveyed 
from Behring's Straits, on the west, to Castor and Pollux 
River (the farthest point reached by Dease and Simpson), 
and, from the shores of Hudson's Bay, on the east, to the 
Straits of the Fury and Hecla. Betwixt these two points 
a terra incognita of between two and three hundred miles 
existed, regarding which there w r as much variance of 
opinion among scientific men; some asserting that, from 
the nature of things, Boothia Felix must be a peninsula — 
others holding as confidently that it must needs be an 
island. To set this question at rest — which, by the way, 
involved the existence or non-existence of the north-west 
passage, at least in that direction — the Hudson's Bay 
Company resolved to fit out another expedition, which 
should proceed to Repulse Bay, and from that point start 
overland to survey the large bay which, it was supposed, 
separated the two extreme points of discovery. 

Hitherto the expeditions which had been despatched to 
the polar seas by land, had carried on their operations 
chiefly during summer ; depending upon supplies of pemmi- 
can and flour for their maintenance during the long winter 
of the arctic regions, should all other resources in the shape 
of fish and game fail them. The expedition now sent out, 
however, was conducted on quite a different principle. 
Spring, or, more correctly speaking, the latter end of win- 
ter, was the season during which its operations were to be 
carried out. Only four months' provisions were taken, 



362 OPINION REGARDING THE EXPEDITION. [1846. 

although it was anticipated that the objects for which it 
was sent could not be accomplished in less than eighteen 
months, if not longer. The net and the gun were to be 
the only hope of the little band of adventurers who thus 
ventured to penetrate into a land so barren, and of whose 
resources so little was known, that it was feared, even by 
those who were long accustomed to a desert life, that the 
whole party would infallibly starve ; and all the more was 
this thought probable, when it was remembered that little 
or no fuel could be obtained there, with the exception of a 
small quantity of oil from the Esquimaux. Starve, how- 
ever, they did not. Under the command of Dr. Rae, a 
man of practical experience in arctic life, of scientific attain- 
ments, and indomitable resolution, the expedition was 
brought back in safety, after a long sojourn in these lands 
of ice and darkness, where they suffered privations, and 
encountered dangers out of which the Father of light and 
love alone could have delivered them. 

In the following pages we shall follow the footsteps of 
Dr. Rae and his hardy associates, as they pursue their 
devious and interesting journey— ^interesting, whether we 
view it in connection with the long-disputed passage which 
has tried the metal and cost the lives of so many of Britain's 
sons during the last two hundred years, or look at it in the 
light of a daring and novel incursion into the regions of 
the far north. 

The instructions given to him by Sir George Simpson, 
directed Dr. Rae to proceed to Fort Churchill, the mosl 
northerly establishment of the company on Hudson's Bay, 
with two boats and twelve men, and to proceed thence to 
the scene of his labours; devoting as much time as he 
could, without occasioning serious delay, to ascertaining 
the latitudes and longitudes of the most remarkable points 
within the range of his operations, noting the incidents 



1846.] INSTRUCTIONS TO DR. RAE. 363 

of the journey, and, generally, to registering the various 
peculiarities and phenomena of the regions he was about to 
explore. Having achieved the object of his journey, he 
was to return, according to his own discretion, either by 
his original course to Churchill, or by Back's Great Fish 
River, to Great Slave Lake. " In conclusion," writes Sir 
George, " let me assure you that we look confidently to 
you for the solution of what may be deemed the final pro- 
blem in the geography of the northern hemisphere. The 
eyes of all who take an interest in the subject are fixed on 
the Hudson's Bay Company ; from us the world expects 
the final settlement of the question that has occupied the 
attention of our country for two hundred years ; and your 
safe and triumphant return, which may God in His mercy 
grant, will, I trust, speedily compensate the Hudson's Bay 
Company for its repeated sacrifices and its protracted 
anxieties."* 

Rae was just the man for such an expedition. He was 
surgeon, astronomer, steersman, and leader to the party ; 
had spent several years in the service of the company ; 
and added to his other attainments the by no means insig- 
nificant accomplishments of a first-rate snow-shoe walker 
and a dead shot ! 

On the 8th of October Dr. Rae landed at York Factory, 
on the shores of Hudson's Bay, after a canoe journey of 
about two months' duration, through the interior from 
Canada. Here he took up his residence for the winter, 
purposing to sail for Fort Churchill in the following spring, 
so soon as the icy bands, which lock up the waters there 
for nearly eight months, should give way. The two boats 
were fine-looking, strong, clinker-built craft, twenty-two 
feet long by seven feet six inches broad, each capable of 

* Eae's Expedition, p. 17. 



o64 PREPARATIONS AND DEPARTURE. [Jj^g 

carrying between fifty and sixty pieces of goods, of 90 lbs. 
weight per piece. They were each rigged with two lug 
sails, to which jibs were afterwards added, and were named 
the "North Pole" and the "Magnet." Besides the usual 
amount of sails, oars, cordage, and ballast, the boats were 
laden with twenty bags of pemmican, two bags of grease, 
twenty-five bags of flour, and four gallons of alcohol for 
fuel, with a good supply of sugar, chocolate, and tea, four 
gallons of brandy, and two gallons of port wine ; amount- 
ing in all to little more than four months' provisions at 
full allowance. To these were added a small sheet-iron 
stove for each boat, a set of sheet-iron lamps for burning 
oil after the fashion of the Esquimaux; several small 
kettles, called conjurers, having a little basin and per- 
forated tin stand for burning alcohol, a seine net, and 
four small window frames, with double panes of glass in 
each. This method of glazing windows, besides rendering 
the room to which they are attached warmer, prevents 
the heated air within from congealing on the glass, and so 
rendering it opaque. Windows glazed with single panes 
soon become covered with moisture, which freezes the instant 
it settles upon the cold glass, and accumulates frequently 
to the thickness of an inch. An oiled canvass canoe was 
also taken, and one of Halkett's portable air boats, which 
latter was large enough to carry three persons. 

About the beginning of May 1846, the increasing power 
of the sun began to work a rapid change over the whole 
land, which, since October, had lain in that cold, dead, and 
seemingly unconquerable stillness, of which none but arctic 
travellers can form an adequate conception. Gradually at 
first, and as if unwillingly, the ice gave way before the 
genial beams of the spring sun, till at last it melted away 
and left the released earth and streams to rejoice in their 
deliverance; reminding one forcibly of the manner in 



}^6.] BEGINNING OF DIFFICULTIES. 365 

which the Sun of Righteousness, by the all-powerful influ- 
ence of His bright beams of forbearance and protracted 
love, thaws and sets free the icy heart and frozen soul of 
unregenerate man. 

On the 5th of May, Hayes River began to break up, but it 
was not until the 12th of June that the coast was sufficiently 
free from ice to permit the exploring party to commence 
their voyage. On that day, however, it was reported 
practicable, and on the 13th, after saying farewell to their 
friends at York Factory, they set sail in the " North Pole" 
and " Magnet," along the shores of Hudson's Bay. 

The crews of the two boats consisted of twelve men, six 
to each boat ; but small though the party was, it embraced 
no less than six different races of men — Orkneymen, Can- 
adians, Indians, half-breeds, Zetlanders, and Highlanders ; 
and to these was afterwards added an Esquimaux interpreter, 
who rejoiced in the name of Ooligbuck, and his son, who 
rejoiced in an incurable habit of thieving, which afterwards 
proved to be no small annoyance to the party. A foretaste 
of the difficulties which this strangely assorted crew were 
afterwards to experience, was afforded them on the day of 
their departure, in the shape of a stiff head wind. They 
had scarcely proceeded a mile down the river in the direction 
of the sea, and the smoke of the guns, with which they had 
been saluted at departure, was still floating in the air, when 
the wind chopped round directly in their teeth and blew 
a gale. Dr. Rae, however, was much too sanguine to think 
of turning back after having fairly started; he therefore 
ordered the sails to be close reefed, and the boats' heads 
turned out to sea, despite the ugly cross sea which was 
occasioned by the meeting currents of the river and tide. 
A good deal of water was shipped, but he succeeded in 
making good his point; cleared the shallows that jutted 
out from the end of the Point of Marsh ; and after a good 



366 SLEEPING IN BOATS AT NIGHT. [^J 

deal of difficulty in forcing a passage through the ice which 
drove along the coast with the current, finally anchored for 
the night near Sam's Creek, to which place the lonely in- 
habitants of York Factory send a party every spring and 
autumn to shoot and salt geese for their winter consumption. 
Here being unable to land, they slept in the boats. " The 
night," says Rae, " was beautiful, and as all my men had 
gone to sleep, nothing interrupted the stillness around but 
the occasional blowing of a white whale, the rather musical 
note of the * caca wee' (long-tailed duck), or the harsh 
scream of the great northern diver. Yet I could not close 
my eyes. Nor was this wakefulness caused by want of 
comfort in my bed, which I must own was none of the 
most inviting, as it consisted of a number of hard packed 
bags of flour, over which a blanket was spread, so that I 
had to accommodate myself the best way I could to the 
inequalities of the surface. To a man who had slept 
soundly in all sorts of places, on the top of a round log in 
the middle of a swamp, as well as on the wet shingle 
beach, such a bed was no hardship; but thoughts now 
pressed upon me which during the bustle and occupation 
of preparation had no time to intrude. I could not conceal 
from myself that many of my brother officers, men of great 
experience in the Indian country, were of opinion that we 
ran much risk of starving ; little was known of the resources 
of that part of the country to which we were bound ; and 
all agreed that there was little chance of procuring fuel, 
unless some oil could be obtained from the natives. Yet 
the novelty of our route and of our intended mode of opera- 
tions had a strong charm for me, and gave me an excite- 
ment which I could not otherwise have felt."* 

The shores of Hudson's Bay between York Factory and 

* Kae's Expedition, pp. 7-8. 



^ 6 E ] KILLING WHITE WHALES. 367 

Fort Churchill are low, flat, and uninteresting. Not a single 
rock is to be seen in all its dreary length, though here and 
there boulder- stones, of various sizes, were observed. A 
short distance from the sea, were numerous small lakes 
and swamps, which were filled with ducks, geese, and other 
water -fowl, whose wild cries served in some degree to break 
the monotony of the way, while their fat little bodies helped 
nightly to fill the kettles, and tickle the palates of the 
miscellaneous crew that invaded their usually undisturbed 
domain. Ice, with its unfailing attendant, fog, floated in 
abundance on the ocean, now compelling them to pursue a 
devious track among the open lanes of water ; then causing 
them to bore slowly through its closely packed but broken 
masses ; anon, vanishing as if by magic, leaving them in 
an open sea, and oftentimes interrupting their progress 
altogether. Notwithstanding these difficulties, however, 
they pursued their route along the coast, and landed at 
Churchill on the 27th of June. 

Here they remained a few days repairing the boats and 
examining the provisions, this being the last establishment 
they would meet with. Some tobacco and salt, being 
looked upon as unnecessary luxuries, were exchanged for 
additional supplies of pemmican and flour, and everything 
was finally arranged for the voyage. 

The people at the fort were engaged in killing white 
whales when they arrived. These fish abound in the polar 
seas, and are often seen rolling their unwieldy forms up the 
rivers that flow into Hudson's Bay. They are used by the 
fur-traders as food for the dogs, the house in which their 
flesh is kept being called the blubber-house ; to find which 
house, especially in summer, no other direction would be 
necessary than the trite one of " follow your nose ! " The 
method of killing the white whale is very simple. A boat, 
having a harpooner both at bow and stern, sails oat among 



368 LEAVE CHURCHILL THE LAST ESTABLISHMENT. [i](J| 

the shoal, and being painted white, it does not alarm them. 
When close enough, the harpoons are thrown, and the 
whales dive under the water. They do not, however, run 
any great distance in one direction, but dart about much in 
the way that a trout does when hooked. Indians employ 
another method of killing them. They erect a stage in the 
water, as far from shore as they can, and sit perched upon 
this, gun in hand, till the whales pass, when they shoot 
them with ball, and afterwards fish up their carcasses in 
their canoes. 

Having taken on board Ooligbuck, the Esquimaux, and 
his son, and said farewell to the inhabitants of Churchill — 
the last civilized beings whom they were to see for a year 
and a half — Dr. Eae and his men started on their voyage 
of discovery on the 5th of July 1846. The weather was 
fine, and the coast, fortunately, free from ice, so that they 
sailed cheerily along under the influence of a light breeze 
from the N.N.E. The men were in excellent health and 
spirits ; and, like most men of daring, adventurous spirits, 
rejoiced at the prospect of facing and overcoming difficulties 
and dangers. The general brightness and liveliness of 
the whole scene at their departure had doubtless some 
influence in producing the exuberance of joy with which 
they left the last settlement of the white man. The broad 
expanse of Hudson's Bay lay stretched out before them ; 
its calm surface flickering in the beams of a bright sun, 
and enlivened with the wild cry and splash of water-fowl, 
as they bathed their plumage, or pursued each other over 
the surface, and down into the blue depths of the ocean. 
Up in the clear sky flocks of gulls sailed calmly on ap- 
parently motionless wings, giving to the beholders a strange, 
irresistible desire to be up there too, disporting in the 
atmospheric ocean ; while from among the happy revellers 
every now and then, would dart one or two of their number, 



184&] BEAUTIFUL APPEARANCE OF THE SEA. 369 

and descending, with collapsed wings, from their giddy 
height, plunge into the water in pursuit of unsuspecting 
fish. The peculiar characteristics of arctic scenery also 
tended to heighten the wild beauty and interest of the 
scene. Far away in the distance might be seen the witite 
pinnacles of a gigantic iceberg — huge, firm, and solid in 
appearance, like the snow-clad summits of the everlasting 
hills, but in reality brittle and unstable, liable to drift and 
change with every ray of sunshine, and every breath of 
wind, and ready, without a moment's warning, to lose its 
balance, and, like the airy castles erected in the mind of 
man, bury its towering heights and fair battlements in the 
unsteady gulf from which it rose. White whales rolled 
their uncouth forms about, and ruffled the otherwise calm 
bosom of the sea, coming frequently within a few yards of 
the boats ; while here and there the bullet head of a seal 
bobbed suddenly up to the surface, its grave countenance 
and wide goggle eyes seeming to inquire what new wonders 
of creation had come to invade the Arctic Sea — already 
sufficiently well peopled with hyperborean monstrosities ! 

During the day they passed a river whose name was in 
keeping with the wild land through which it flows, being 
called the Pauk-a-thau-kis-cow. The shore was flat and 
low, obliging them to keep six miles out to sea in order to 
avoid being stranded at the ebb tide; but this mattered little 
in such fine weather. As the night was clear, and the 
wind fair, they continued their course without interruption, 
till the forenoon of next day, when it was found that they 
had made a run of ninety-five miles. Here they were 
overtaken by three Esquimaux in their kayaks. These 
little canoes were propelled by their vigorous owners so 
swiftly, that they overtook, and easily kept up with the 
boats, while sailing at the rate of four miles an hour. The 
kayak " is about twelve feet in length, and two feet in 
2 a 



370 ESQUIMAUX CANOES. [JJJJ 

breadth, tapering off from the centre to the bow and stern, 
almost to a mere point. The frame is of wood, covered 
with seal- skin, having an aperture in the centre, which 
barely admits of the stowage of the nether man. These 
canoes are calculated for the accommodation of one person 
only; yet it is possible for a passenger to embark upon 
them, if he can submit to the inconvenience and risk of 
lying at full length without stirring hand or foot, as the 
least motion would upset the canoe. Instances, however, 
have been known of persons being conveyed hundreds of 
miles in this manner. The kayaks are used solely for 
hunting ; and, by means of the double paddle, are propelled 
through the water with the velocity of the dolphin. No 
land animal can possibly escape when seen in the water ; 
the least exertion is sufficient to keep up with the rein- deer 
when swimming at its utmost speed."* 

Some Esquimaux have the power of righting themselves 
after being upset, while others are utterly helpless, and 
would infallibly be drowned, were no assistance at hand. 
Such assistance, however, is seldom wanting, as accidents 
of the kind rarely occur except in the excitement of the 
chase, when a number of comrades are always present, 
ready to replace the luckless diver once more on his centre 
of gravity. The oomidk, or women's boat, is much clumsier, 
slower, and safer, more in the form of a boat than a canoe, 
and is used to convey the female portion of the community 
and their families from one part of the coast to another, 
being propelled by the women, who use small paddles for 
the purpose. 

Dr. Rae took advantage of these Esquimaux going to 
Churchill, to write a few lines to Sir George Simpson. 

In the afternoon the wind increased, and the water began 

* M'Lean's Hudson's Bay Territory, vol. ii. pp. 49, 50. 



JjJJ] CHANGEABLE WEATHER. 371 

to grow shallow. The boats' heads were instantly put out to 
sea, but the ebb tide proved too quick for them, and they 
grounded about ten miles from the shore. This was all the 
more aggravating that the wind was fair. There was 
nothing for it, however, but patience ; which virtue they 
exercised as they best could until two o'clock the next 
morning, when the rising tide once more set them free. 
How strikingly, in these regions, the power and helpless- 
ness of man is brought under our observation ! An inch 
more of the mighty deep, and he roams at will over its wide 
expanse ; an inch less, and he lies a helpless log upon its 
surface ! A clear sea and a favouring breeze, and his huge 
ship, obedient to every impulse of his will, ploughs bravely 
over the waves, dashing the spray from her swelling bows, 
and seeming as if nothing could check or interrupt her 
course. A slight current sweeps the icy mountains of the 
polar seas down upon her course, with all the slow, resist- 
less majesty and power that marks the operations of the 
works of God — and his sturdy bark is crushed, carried 
hither and thither on its icy cradle, a helpless hulk, at the 
mercy of the wind and sea. 

A good deal of rough weather was experienced as they 
coasted along shore, and Dr. Rae had cause to congratulate 
himself on having taken Orkneymen as part of his crews ; 
for the Indians, half-breeds, and Canadians, albeit inferior 
to none as boatmen in river, lake, or rapid, are the veriest 
children when fairly launched on the billows of the salt sea. 
" The boats," says Rae, " fully realized the good opinion 
we had of them ; but being so deeply laden, the sea broke 
frequently over them, and kept us continually baling. At 
last the Magnet shipped a heavy sea, and the steersman, 
either from losing his presence of mind, or from not know- 
ing how to act, allowed the boat to broach to. Fortunately 
no other sea struck her whilst thus placed, else both she 



372 MEET WITH ESQUIMAUX. [JJjJ 

and the crew must inevitably have been lost." The gale 
continued to increase, and at last became so violent, that 
they were forced to run for shelter under the lee of a large 
island. On a neighbouring island, a number of Esquimaux 
tents were seen, but it could not be discovered whether or 
not they were inhabited. Rain poured down in torrents, 
but, rather than recline in lazy luxuriance on his wet 
blanket, Dr. Rae seized his gun and proceeded, after the 
manner of Robinson Crusoe, to make a survey of the island. 
Like him, too, he discovered a footprint in the sand, but it 
was that of a large white bear, which, from the havoc made 
in the nests of the wild-fowl, had evidently been dining on 
a few hundred eggs. He also fell in with a number of 
Esquimaux graves, protected, though not very effectually, 
from the depredations of wild animals by arches of stone. 
Among these graves were found a number of spear heads 
and knives ; but Esquimaux do not generally destroy all 
the property of the deceased, as do most of the Indian 
tribes. 

In the evening the wind moderated, and they received a 
visit from five Esquimaux, from the tents before mentioned. 
They each received a small piece of tobacco, of which they 
seemed remarkably fond. A large, deep river, which 
empties itself into the sea not far from the island they had 
landed on, abounds in white whales, seals, and salmon. 
One of the latter, weighing ten pounds, was caught, and 
proved an acceptable variety to their supper of pemmican. 
Salmon, however, are not always, in these wild countries, 
partaken of with the gusto that might be supposed by those 
who dwell in more civilized climes. There is a great truth 
enunciated when it is said, a man may have " too much of 
a good thing.' 7 There is a river called the Moise, which 
flows near the Labrador coast, and empties itself into the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence. Go there, reader — you will find 



JjJJ] TOO MUCH OP A GOOD THING. 373 

dwelling in a solitary trading establishment, about twenty 
miles from the banks of that river, a lonely clerk of the 
Hudson's Bay Company. One other human being, a 
Canadian, helps him to inhabit the spot ; all the rest of his 
party, eight or ten in number, being away at a salmon- 
fishery on the Moise. He has just risen from a breakfast 
of roasted salmon, and now takes down his gun and sallies, 
forth into the woods behind the house. For the last three 
weeks he has done so, and has returned, day after day, 
with the same charge in his gun; for it is summer, and 
the water-fowl are away north, and everything else has 
vanished, no one knows where — away south, probably! 
He empties his piece into the blue sky, however, and calls 
for dinner. Several large cuts of boiled salmon are brought 
and set before him. " No hardship this," you will say. 
Perhaps not ; but it certainly approximates to discomfort, 
when fried salmon appears at tea, and kippered salmon 
graces the table next morning at breakfast, and so on un- 
ceasingly for weeks together, till at last he loaths salmon, 
kippered, fried, roasted, or boiled, with a frenzied intensity 
that can scarcely be understood by those who purchase the 
delicacy in a British market at two shillings per pound ! 
This is no ideal case, got up to show how a good thing 
might be detested when one had too much of it. It is a 
well -authenticated instance in which salmon once was 
actually superabundant, and was heartily abhorred. 

The relish with which Dr. Rae and his party ate their 
supper was not, however, blunted on the present occasion, 
by having too much of it ; nor was the doctor's apprecia- 
tion of rest at all lowered by the uncomfortable condition 
in which he found his couch upon retiring to it after the 
evening meal. " When about to go to bed," says he, " I 
found my blankets quite wet by the seas that washed 
over me in the morning. This, however, made them 



374 FEATURES OP THE COAST. [JjJJ 

keep out the wind better, and did not certainly affect my 
rest!" 

The island and its neighbourhood, they found, was a 
favourite resort of the natives. The following day was 
more moderate, but not sufficiently so to permit of their 
venturing out of harbour. On the 9 th, however, the wind 
shifted, and they were enabled to lie their course. The sea 
was studded with numerous islets, the resort of immense 
flocks of birds, which the travellers used as food (although 
not very palatable) to save their pemmican. A few of the 
birds called guillimots were also observed here. The 
weather was very variable, with calms and light breezes 
alternating. Nevertheless they made good way, taking- 
advantage of every favouring puff to spread their sails and 
court the winds, and continuing steadily at the oars, often 
by night as well as by day. The shores had become steep 
and rugged; the whole coast being lined with bare primi- 
tive rocks, and the sea dotted occasionally with rocky 
islands, from among which were obtained constant and 
large supplies of eggs and water-fowl. Several deer were 
also shot by the men, so that their larder was usually over- 
flowing with the fat of the land. 

On the 13th Chesterfield Inlet was passed. Here they 
were visited by a solitary Esquimaux, one of a band which 
resorts to this place for the purpose of spearing deer 
whilst swimming across the inlet in autumn. A number of 
walruses were seen here. " They were grunting and bellow- 
ing," says Rae, " making a noise which I fancy would much 
resemble a concert of old boars and buffaloes." During 
a two days' detention at an inlet into which they had run 
for shelter, Dr. Rae and one of his men traced eight miles 
of the course of a considerable river which flows into the 
bay. At its mouth upwards of thirty seals were observed 
basking in the sun, among whom a ball was sent, which 



July 



ARRIVE AT REPULSE BAY. 375 



had the effect of sending them walloping into the water in 
ludicrous haste. During their walk a hen partridge and 
her brood were found. This bird afforded them an inter- 
esting instance of the strong power of love in overcoming 
natural timidity and weakness when it exists strongly in 
the breasts even of the lower animals. " I have seen," 
says Rae, " many birds attempt to defend their young, but 
never witnessed one so devotedly brave as this mother: 
she ran about us, over and between our feet, striking at 
our hands when we attempted to take hold of her young, 
so that she herself was easily made prisoner. Although 
kept in the hand some time, when let loose again she con- 
tinued her attacks with unabated courage and perseverance, 
and was soon left mistress of the field, with her family safe 
around her." 

The rest of their voyage along the coast was unmarked 
by any incident of peculiar interest. Light winds and 
sunshine succeeded to stiff breezes and clouds; and they 
experienced the usual vicissitudes attendant upon arctic 
travelling, in the shape of ice, fogs, rain, and snow. To- 
wards the end of July they drew near the scene of future 
operations; and, on the 25th of that month, landed at the 
head of Repulse Bay. Here they met a party of Esqui- 
maux, who, as usual, received their pacific advances with 
some distrust. Under the influence of Ooligbuck's per- 
suasive tongue, however, they soon threw aside their fears, 
and became communicative, informing their interrogators 
that the bay (called Akkoolee) of which they were in 
search was not much more than forty miles distant from 
the spot where they stood, in a N.N.W. direction, and 
that about thirty-five miles of this distance was a chain of 
deep lakes. This decided Dr. Rae in his resolution to 
penetrate to the sea in his boats, in preference to a method, 
which he had once contemplated, of going round and de- 



376 PLEASING APPEARANCE OF THE NATIVES. [JjJJ 

scending into the bay by the Straits of the Fury and Hecla. 
Accordingly, the boats were hauled up on the beach, and 
a reconnoitring party went off to examine a small stream 
which falls into Repulse Bay not far from the spot on 
which they landed. 

The Esquimaux were good-looking fellows, of low sta- 
ture, and much more cleanly than those of Hudson's Straits. 
One of the men had a formidable beard and whiskers, and 
another, a youth with ruddy cheeks and sparkling black 
eyes, which beamed with fun and good-humour, was dressed 
somewhat fancifully even for an Esquimaux, and seemed 
to entertain a high opinion of his personal appearance. 

Having ascertained that the little river rose in a lake 
about five miles from its mouth, they commenced, on the 
following day, to drag the North Pole up the stream, 
having first secured the cargoes, and placed them, with the 
Magnet, in a place of security, with a guard to protect them 
from the natives, who assembled to the number of twenty- 
six to welcome their visiters. From these people was ob- 
tained a seasonable supply of seal-skin boots, which, being 
perfectly waterproof, are well adapted for travelling over 
wet ground. These boots are made of undressed seal-skin, 
the sole being made of walrus hide. They are so hard, 
that it is impossible to get them on until after being 
thoroughly soaked, outside and in, with water, in which 
state they are pliable, and after being rubbed dry with a 
cloth, are ready for use. If parts of them have not been 
sufficiently softened during the soaking, the natives hasten 
the process by chewing the refractory portions between 
their teeth. u When about to put on a pair of Esquimaux 
boots," says Rae, " one of our female visiters, noticing that 
the leather of the foot was rather hard, took them out of 
my hands, and began chewing them with her strong teeth!" 

The work of discovery now commenced. No white 



July 
1846 



FIRST STEPS ON UNKNOWN GROUND. 377 



man had ever penetrated into the interior of the land on 
whose shores they now stood. All beyond the shores of 
Repulse Bay was an unknown wilderness, except in so far 
as it had been described to them by the natives; and it 
was with renewed energy and freshened hope that they 
began the difficult ascent of the little river before mentioned. 
The bed of this stream was extremely rocky and broken, 
obliging the men to be constantly up to their waists in the 
ice-cold water; and, despite their utmost endeavours to 
prevent it, the boat got severely rubbed and bruised — not, 
however, so as to damage her materially. They soon 
passed the river, and entered upon a lake whence it flows, 
where they encountered a gale of wind. This did not arrest, 
although it impeded their progress, and, in a few hours, 
they came to the end of the lake, which, with the river 
that flowed out of it, was named after the boat. A narrow 
channel conducted them into another lake towards evening, 
on whose treeless shores they encamped for the night. No 
wood of any kind was to be found; but they were so for- 
tunate as to discover a kind of plant which, although it did 
not make the cheerful, bright, crackling blaze which affords 
so much comfort and enjoyment to the voyageur in the 
thick- wood lands, still served the purpose of cooking their 
supper and warming their fingers. 

Next morning (the 28th) they started at six, and con- 
tinued their journey. The banks of the lake were low and 
without rocks, being covered with short grass in many places. 
At ten o'clock they arrived at a neck of land about half a 
mile broad, which separates this lake from another; and 
while part of the crew were occupied in carrying the goods 
over it, some were busily engaged in preparing breakfast. 
Here they were in some doubt as to what course ought to 
be pursued, having got confused in the intricacies of the 
lake. After some difficulty in conveying the boat over 



378 DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED [ 



Jtn.T 
1846. 



one or two of the portages, which being covered with 
granite stones, the boat's keel stuck to them like glue, they 
reached a point whence was obtained a view of the Arctic 
Sea, bearing north, at a distance, apparently, of about 
twelve miles. Not a pool of open water, however, was to 
be seen upon its broad expanse, the whole of which was 
covered to the horizon with immense fields of ice. Crossing 
two more portages and another small lake, they entered 
upon a body of fresh water of nearly six and a half miles 
in length, and not more than half a mile broad. Its banks 
were steep and rugged, being in many places upwards of 
three hundred feet high. At the end of this lake they 
found a portage, the most difficult to surmount that had yet 
obstructed their passage. A short passage from Dr. Rae's 
interesting work will give some idea of the difficulties 
encountered at this place, which was little worse after all 
than the rest of the route. " The following morning was 
cloudy, with a cold, north breeze, which was not at all 
unfavourable for the work we had to do. We went to work 
at an early hour, but our advance was very slow, as the 
portage fully realized the bad opinion that we had formed 
of it. Hitherto, by laying the anchor out some distance 
ahead, and having a block attached to the bow of the boat 
by a strop, or what sailors call a swifter passing round 
her, we could form a purchase sufficiently strong to move 
her with facility; but here our utmost exertions were re- 
quired, and the tracking line was frequently broken. A 
piece of iron, an eighth of an inch thick, which lined the 
keel from stem to stern, was actually drawn out and doubled 
up, so that it was necessary to remove the whole. At half- 
past ten, when half way across, we breakfasted, after which 
we met with a bank of snow, over which we went at a 
great rate, * * * Near the extremity of the portage 
there were some ponds of water deep enough to float the 



Aug. 
1646. 



AND OVERCOME. 379 



boat, that helped us not a little. The descent of a steep 
bank fully a hundred feet high brought us into another 
fine lake eight miles long and one mile broad, lying nearly 
north and south, with steep rocky shores on its west side. 
* * * This lake was named i Miles,' after a friend. 
As it was quite calm, we pulled up due north, and entered 
a narrow inlet, out of which there was no passage. * * * 
It was now too late, however, to look for another exit, and 
we all betook ourselves to rest after a hearty supper, for 
which the fatigues of the day gave us an excellent appetite. 
Some of the men had large pieces of skin stripped from 
their backs whilst lifting the boat over the various obstruc- 
tions on the portage."* 

Perseverance at last overcame all obstacles ; and, on the 
2d of August, they launched upon the salt waters of a 
lake which communicated, through a narrow channel, with 
the sea. Here they found two Esquimaux tents ; and while 
the men put ashore to prepare breakfast, Dr. Rae walked 
up to them to pay a morning call and introduce himself to 
the inmates, if any there were. On reaching the tents he 
found all quiet inside, but, after calling once or twice outside 
the door of one, the lady of the house suddenly made her 
appearance, apparently just out of bed, as she was very 
composedly drawing on her capacious boots, whilst she 
surveyed the doctor without showing the slightest symptom 
of alarm, although, as he afterwards learned, she had never 
seen a white man before. Immediately afterwards an old 
man popped out his head, and stood beside his better half in 
great perplexity. He was evidently a cipher, and seemed 
utterly incapable of putting forth a single effort to check 
the torrent of volubility with which his lady assailed her 
visiter. It was all expended in vain, however, until 



* Eae's Expedition, pp. 46, 47. 



380 UNPROPITIOUS CONDITION OF THE SEA. [£j£ 

Ooligbuck's opportune arrival, when, with the help of a 
few presents, all parties came to a friendly understanding. 
Their report of the state of the ice in the large bay was 
sufficiently discouraging. They said that there was sel- 
dom enough of open water to float one of their small canoes; 
and, from the appearance of it at the time, Dr. Rae was 
inclined to believe they spoke truth. The remainder of 
their party, consisting of two sons and their wives, had 
gone a day's journey inland to hunt the musk-ox. After 
breakfast they proceeded on their way; and, the same 
evening, launched their boat on the waters of the Polar Sea, 
in latitude 67° 15' N. From this point Dr. Rae sent 
three of his men back to Repulse Bay on foot, a distance 
of forty-three miles, for the purpose of making every pos- 
sible preparation for the winter; instructing them to be 
particularly careful to keep up a friendly intercourse with 
the natives. With the remaining seven men he proceeded 
to survey the coast to the north-westward in his boat. 

It was now the 3d of August; yet the ice filled the bay 
in such quantities that they were completely set fast in the 
evening, and had to put ashore. A wooden sledge was 
found, which was evidently made of the planks of a vessel 
(probably the Fury or Sir John Ross's steamer the Victory). 
It furnished them with a seasonable supply of fuel. On 
landing they were much disappointed to find that the only 
fresh water to be obtained was so bad as to be nearly 
undrinkable. It resembled chocolate in appearance; but 
arctic travellers are not nice, and the dirty water was 
swallowed without comment after the first disapproving 
growl. The coast was generally low and flat, being in 
some parts lined for miles with mud banks, from eight to 
ten feet high, frozen quite solid, and, in other parts, broken 
by rocky capes and headlands. Although desolate enough, 
as far as man was concerned, there was no lack of animal 



f 8 "gj DEEP* SHOT ON THE ICE. 381 

life to enliven the scene. Wolves serenaded them by night ; 
marmots chattered at them by day, standing up on their 
hind-legs, as the exploring party passed, to gaze (it is 
presumed) in wonderment at the unwonted sight. Foot- 
prints of musk cattle and deer were observe d in the sand, 
while the air thrilled with the wild music of hundreds of 
golden plovers and sand-pipers. One morning a young 
buck was observed on a piece of ice half a mile to seaward. 
It had been forced to take to the water to escape the wolves, 
one or two of which were seen skulking along shore, await- 
ing the poor animal's return. The boat instantly started in 
pursuit, as the state of their larder did not allow them to 
be merciful ; and after a long chase, the poor deer was shot 
whilst swimming from one floe to another. The weather 
was very unsettled. Fogs continued to retard them con- 
stantly, while they tracked and poled amongst the masses 
of ice which beset them on every side. It also rained 
continually; so that, besides being wet all day, their fuel 
was so saturated as to render it impossible to make a fire, 
obliging them to sleep in wet clothes and wet beds night 
after night. " Fortunately," says Rae, with characteristic 
coolness, " the weather was mild, so that we did not feel 
much inconvenience from this !" Besides being surrounded 
by ice, they were constantly exposed to the danger of 
being overwhelmed by the ponderous masses under which 
they were compelled frequently to pass. Some of these 
masses were twenty feet up in the air, and they were 
crashing into the sea all round them, without a moment's 
warning to give indication of the approaching catastrophe ! 
What a position ! How utterly futile the power or pre- 
caution of man in such a case. How eminently conspicuous 
the protecting goodness of God. 

Finding that there was no possibility of tracing the 
western shore in the direction of Dease and Simpson's 



382 FARTHER PROGRESS ARRESTED. [^J 

farthest, owing to the ice, Dr. Rae resolved, on the 5th, 
to retrace his route, and endeavour to proceed along the 
eastern shore towards the Straits of the Fury and Hecla. 
In this attempt, however, he failed, in consequence of the 
ice blockading that coast as thickly as it did the other. A 
gale which blew on the 7th failed to clear it away; and 
from this circumstance he felt convinced that Akkoolee 
Bay must be completely blocked up. 

On the 8th the flood-tide carried the ice down upon them 
so as to render their position unsafe; and as it was impos- 
sible to advance, the boat's head was unwillingly turned 
towards the point whence they had set out ; at which place 
Dr. Rae resolved to await some favourable change in the 
state of the ice, and ascertain how things were going on at 
Repulse Bay. 

On arriving opposite the tents of their Esquimaux 
friends, they beheld them running down to the beach, led 
on by the old lady whose volubility of utterance has been 
already noticed. On the present occasion she seemed to 
have added an additional spring to her tongue, which went 
like the clapper of a mill; and, for riotous noisiness, threw 
all the others entirely into the shade, as she rushed towards 
the party with loud shouts of joy at their return. The ox 
hunters had returned, and brought information that the 
deer had commenced migrating to the southward, which 
determined the doctor to walk over to Repulse Bay, to see 
what his men were doing towards procuring a supply of 
venison for the winter. 

Leaving three men and Ooligbuck's son in charge of 
the boat, he set out on his journey with the remainder, 
intending to cross the isthmus in a S.S.E. direction; " but 
it was impossible," says he, " to keep this course for any 
great distance, as we were forced to make long circuits to 
avoid precipices and arms of the lake. After a most 



1846'.] JOURNEY ON FOOT OVER THE ISTHMUS. 383 

fatiguing day's march over hill and dale, through swamp 
and stream, we halted at half-past 6 p.m., close to the 
second portage crossed on our outward route. To gain a 
distance of twenty miles, we had travelled not less than 
thirty. Our supper was soon finished, as it was neither 
luxurious, nor required much cooking, consisting of our 
staple commodities, pemmican, cold, with water. The 
morning (of the 10th) was raw and cold, with some hoar 
frost, and there not being a blanket among the party, and 
only two coats, our sleep was neither long, sound, nor re- 
freshing. In fact, I had carried no coat with me except 
a thin Mackintosh, which being damp from the rain of 
yesterday, had become an excellent conductor of caloric, 
and added to the chilly feeling instead of keeping it off. 
There is one advantage in an uncomfortable bed, it induces 
early rising; and it proved so on the present occasion, for 
we had finished breakfast and resumed our journey by 
half-past 2 a.m. The travelling was as difficult as that 
of yesterday, but we had the advantage of a cool morning, 
and got on more easily. At seven o'clock we arrived at 
the narrows which separate Christie and North Pole Lakes, 
where we found the greater number of the Esquimaux we 
had seen, encamped, waiting for the deer crossing over."* 
At two o'clock in the afternoon they arrived at Repulse 
Bay, with enviable appetites, but rather foot- sore, having 
completely worn through their socks and shoes on the 
journey. 

Here the men were found to be living from hand to 
mouth, having only enough of salmon and deer to prevent 
them from starving. As the lives of the whole party 
depended on their success in fishing and shooting, Dr. Rae, 
after mature consideration, resolved to give up the idea of 

% Eae's Narrative, pp. 59, 60. 



384 PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING. Ltm. 

prosecuti g the survey that autumn — a resolution which 
was strengthened by the fact, that the immense quantities 
of ice in the bay, and the prevalence of northerly winds, 
rendered it more than probable that the objects of the 
expedition could not have been completed during that year; 
and as they should have no means of subsistence on re- 
turning to Repulse Bay, it would have been necessary to 
pass the winter at Churchill. 

Having once formed his plans, the doctor lost no time 
in putting them into execution. A house had to be built, 
provision stores and observatories erected, fisheries estab- 
lished, hunting parties sent out, fuel collected, and all the 
multifarious preparations for a winter campaign in the 
regions of ice, fog, snow, and desolation, attended to. 
Accordingly, a party of the men were immediately de- 
spatched to bring over the boat, and place her in a place 
of safety, while Dr. Rae, shouldering his gun, sallied forth 
to look for an eligible site whereon to erect his dwelling. 
After a lengthened search, no better place could be found 
than a deep valley, about a hundred and fifty yards to the 
eastward of North Pole River, and not far from the spot 
where they had originally landed. Besides being the best 
locality as regarded shelter, there was the additional 
advantage of several large bays close at hand, which were 
likely to produce fish. During his survey, Dr. Rae fell 
in with a covey of ptarmigan, out of which he bagged 
eighteen brace in a couple of hours, an earnest of the 
plentiful supply of food which they afterwards obtained. 

At this time it became a matter of serious consideration 
what was to be done for fuel. There was not a single tree 
in the whole land; and even willows were scarce and 
small- sized. Of these, however, they set vigorously to 
work to collect as many as possible, and it was hoped 
that, by dint of economy and a supply of oil from the 



JjJjF'] FORT HOPE. 385 

natives, they should be able to keep the fire going all 
winter. 

On the 2d September the house was finished. The 
walls, formed of mud and clay, were fully two feet thick; 
three small openings were left, into which a like number 
of windows were fixed, having two panes of glass each. 
The door was made of parchment deer-skins, stretched over 
a wooden frame. The roof was in keeping with the other 
parts of this palace, being constructed of the oars and masts 
of the boats with a moose-skin and oiled-cloth covering. 
The entire edifice measured, internally, twenty feet long 
by fourteen wide ; height in front, seven and a half feet, 
sloping to five and a half at the back. One end of this 
space was partitioned off with a screen of moose- skins; and 
besides forming the library, parlour, and bed-room of Dr. 
Rae, also served as a store-room for the pemmican which 
was to be the travelling provision of the party on the 
following spring, or their last hope in case of starvation. 
A meat store was built close to the dwelling-house, and 
afterwards, when the snow became sufficiently consolidated 
to form slabs, two observatories were built with a pillar of 
ice in each — one for the dip circle, the other for a hori- 
zontally suspended needle on which to try the effect of the 
Aurora. The establishment, when completed, was called 
Fort Hope, and truly a more hopeful band of men have 
seldom tenanted a house or dwelt in a land less hopeful in 
appearance than was the little fort of Dr. Rae and his 
voyageurs on the well-named shores of Repulse Bay. 

The whole time and energies of the party were now 
devoted to providing themselves with the means of sus- 
taining life and caloric; and in accomplishing this, they 
found themselves full occupation. The following is a 
description of their procedure : — 

" The routine of our day's work," says Rae, " was as fol- 
2b 



386 DAILY ROUTINE OF THE FORT. [®JJJ 

lows : In the morning we were up before daylight; the men 
got orders for the several duties they had to perform, which 
were principally carried on out of doors, and at which they 
set to work immediately after rolling up their bedding and 
taking breakfast. This meal usually consisted of boiled 
venison, the water with which it was cooked being con- 
verted into a very excellent soup by the addition of some 
deers' blood, and a handful or two of flour. Our dinner, 
or rather supper, consisted of the same materials as our 
breakfast, and was taken about four or five o'clock ; after 
that, my time was employed in writing my journal, or 
making calculations, whilst the men were busy improving 
themselves in reading, arithmetic, &c, in which I assisted 
them as much as my time would permit. Divine service 
was read every Sunday when practicable." 

Towards the end of September, the pools of water were 
frozen over, and a considerable portion of the bay set fast, 
its smooth surface being broken here and there by the 
thick heads of the seals, who did not seem to relish the 
idea of being debarred from an occasional visit to the 
atmospheric world, and took this method of keeping air- 
holes open during the winter. The deer also became 
numerous at this time, and often tempted the doctor, who 
pleads guilty to the charge of being much addicted to 
field-sports, to exchange the sextant for the rifle, an ex- 
change which was certainly advantageous to the larder, 
for he tells us that, out of ten deer shot one day, seven were 
killed by himself within a few miles of the house. The 
sporting-book for September showed that they had been 
diligent and successful: 63 deer, 5 hares, 1 seal, 172 
partridges, and 116 salmon and trout, having been brought 
in. 

About the beginning of October the cold became suffi- 
ciently intense to penetrate within doors; but this, strange 



f 8 C 4 T g ] ADVENTUKE WITH A DEER. 387 

though it may appear, added to, rather than diminished, 
their comfort — for a time at least — as it froze the clay- 
walls of the building, which had at first been disagreeably 
damp. The frost, however, effectually removed this, until 
the succeeding spring thawed them down again. 

On the 19th the doctor very narrowly escaped an un- 
pleasant rencontre with a deer. " When out shooting," 
says he, " having killed one deer, I went in pursuit of 
another (a large buck) that had been wounded, and put 
four balls through him. Thinking that the last ball had 
settled the business (for he had fallen), I went carelessly 
up to him without reloading my rifle, and when within a 
few yards I exclaimed, ' Ah ! poor fellow, you are done for 
at last,' when the deer, as if he understood what I said, 
and thought I was adding insult to injury, sprang to his 
legs in a moment, and, at a couple of bounds, his horns 
were within a foot of me. Circumstanced as I was, I 
thought with Falstaff, ' that discretion was the better part 
of valour,' and beat a hasty retreat, laughing heartily all 
the time at the strange figure we must have cut. Taking 
the deer by the horns could have been of no use, and might 
have cost me some troublesome bruises and scratches." 

Notwithstanding the strenuous exertions that had been 
made, it was found, towards the middle of November, that 
they could not afford fuel to dry their clothes ; warm food 
being considered more essential to health and comfort than 
dry clothing. They therefore adopted the plan of taking 
them under the blankets at night, and drying them by the 
heat of their bodies ! As may be supposed, this was not 
agreeable, particularly when the cold became so great as 
to freeze the moisture which collected in the house during 
the day, depositing it in a thick coat on the blankets, which 
were found sparkling with hoarfrost when they retired to 
rest at night ; and these blankets were not entirely free 



388 INTENSITY OF THE FROST. [^184?°* 

from ice till the first of March, when the sun first became 
powerful enough to dry them ! Dr. Rae tells us that his 
waistcoat became so stiff at last, owing to the constant 
deposit of moisture from his breath, which was frozen as 
soon as deposited, that he could scarcely manage to button 
it ; and, as the fuel became more scarce, the heat raised in 
Fort Hope was never sufficient to thaw this said garment. 
On the 1st of February, however, the waistcoat experienced 
a temporary disenchantment from its sad condition, on the 
occasion of its wearer paying a visit to the snow habitation 
of an Esquimaux, which edifice was so warm that the waist- 
coat actually thawed ! As time wore on, things grew more 
and more desperate ; and one cannot help smiling at the 
cool way in which Dr. Rae speaks of his discomforts. The 
room in which they lived was so constantly filled with 
tobacco smoke, that it was not quite certain whether it or 
atmospheric air predominated. " Of course," says the 
doctor (who was no smoker), " I might to a great extent 
have put a stop to this, but the poor fellows appeared to 
receive so much comfort from the use of the pipe, that it 
would have been cruelty to do so for the sake of saving 
myself a trifling inconvenience." In speaking of the cold, 
he says, " Of oil our stock was so small that we had been 
forced to keep early and late hours, namely, lying occa- 
sionally fourteen hours in bed, as we found that to sit up 
in a house in which the temperature was some degrees below 
zero, without either light or fire, was not very pleasant!" 
Nevertheless, the whole party seemed actually to enjoy 
themselves under these circumstances; and one poor fellow 
who had his knee frozen while in bed, only got laughed at 
for his effeminacy, instead of being commiserated, when 
he made known the fact ! 

On the 28th of January 1847, North Pole River was 
frozen to the bottom, so that it became necessary to go to 



jg 4 N ? - ] RENCONTRE WITH THE WOLVES. 389 

a "lake about half a mile from the house for water. Dur- 
ing the constant gales which swept the snow-drift in thick 
volumes round their little dwelling, the boat became com- 
pletely drifted over, so that not a trace of her was to be 
seen. She was found at last; and after the greater part of 
the men had been employed for fourteen days in clearing 
her of snow, she was at length extricated from a hole 
more than twelve feet deep. 

Wolves were exceedingly numerous during the whole 
winter. One morning Ooligbuck shot one, not more than 
ten yards from the door of the house, and six or eight more 
were seen not far off. When pressed by hunger, these 
fierce but cowardly brutes, if strong in numbers, will some- 
times attack a man. Early one morning, before day- light, 
Dr. Rae met a pack. " I observed," says he, " a band of 
animals coming over a rising ground at a quick pace directly 
towards me. I at first supposed them to be deer, but on a 
nearer approach they proved to be wolves, seventeen in 
number. They continued to advance at full speed until 
within forty yards, when they formed a sort of half circle 
to leeward. Hoping to send a ball through one, I knelt 
down and took what I thought a sure aim at a large fellow 
that was nearest; unfortunately it was not broad day-light, 
and the rascals all kept end on to me, so that the ball 
merely cut off a line of hair and a piece of skin from his 
side. They apparently did not expect to meet with such 
a reception, for, after looking at me a second or two, they 
trotted off, no doubt as much disappointed at not making 
a breakfast of me, as I was at missing my aim. Had they 
come to close quarters, which they sometimes do when hard 
pressed for food, I had a large and strong knife which 
would have proved a very efficient weapon." 

The winter passed slowly away ; and, towards the month 
of March, the weather became somewhat milder, and the 



390 RENEW THE SURVEY ON FOOT. [is*"' 

deer began to migrate northward again. Still there were 
many weeks to pass away before the massive cakes of ice, 
which bound river, lake, and sea, would yield to the power 
of spring and set the waters free. Dr. Rae had deter- 
mined to prosecute part of his discoveries on the ice, and 
accordingly about this time he began to make preparations 
for setting out. Two sledges were constructed of the bat- 
tens which lined the inside of the boat, three of which were 
nailed together to form runners of sufficient thickness. It 
had been intended to start on the 1st of April, but this 
was prevented by an accident which happened to Ooligbuck. 
He had been out hunting one day, and happened acciden- 
tally to stumble. In falling, a large dagger, which he 
usually carried, ran completely through his arm, and 
caused such a flow of blood that he had scarcely strength 
left to return to the fort. A little care, however, soon 
restored him ; and preparations were made for setting out 
finally on the 5th of April. 

The men who went on this winter expedition were, Dr. 
Rae, George Flett, John Corrigal, William A damson, 
Ooligbuck's son, and Ivitchuk, an Esquimaux. The pro- 
visions, &c, were drawn on two sledges, to each of which 
four dogs were harnessed. Their provision for the journey 
consisted of three bags of pemmican, seventy rein-deer 
tongues, half a hundredweight of flour, some tea, choco- 
late, and sugar, besides a little alcohol and oil for fuel. 
Each man had a blanket and a supply of moccasins and 
socks. Thus equipped, they started from Fort Hope early 
in the morning, in the midst of a gale of wind, with clouds 
of drifting snow. Towards breakfast-time, however, the 
weather smiled propitiously on them. The clouds dis- 
persed, leaving the deep blue of the wintry sky to spread 
a gladdening influence over the scene and over the spirits 
of the arctic travellers. Five suns shone forth with dazzling 



Aprii/1 



lg'47 ] CURIOUS DWELLINGS. 391 

brilliancy ! four of which, however, were parhelia, or mock 
suns, and they rivalled in brightness the orb of day him- 
self. The track followed was that formerly pursued in 
the boat ; their intention being to cross the isthmus that 
separates Akkoolee from Repulse Bay, and coast along 
the former on the ice until they reached Lord Mayor's 
Bay, which was the most southerly part of Boothia Felix 
discovered by Sir John Ross. 

During the day's march, numerous bands of deer crossed 
their path, which served greatly to enliven the scene, and 
proved a capital stimulus to the dogs, which, from the bad 
state of the roads, were frequently inclined to lag. To- 
wards seven o'clock in the evening the whole party began 
to feel inclined for rest, and finally called a halt on the 
eastern shore of Christie Lake, where they prepared to 
pass the night. 

In this world of wonders, we become so much accus- 
tomed to hear of and to behold astounding facts, that they 
cease very much to make any impression upon us. Never- 
theless, we do think that it is somewhat calculated to make 
an impression on the most obtuse minds, to be told that 
Dr. Rae and his men built a house every evening during 
their journey, and forsook it, without the smallest feeling 
of regret, every morning I But let the doctor speak for 
himself. " Our usual mode," says he, " of preparing 
lodgings for the night was as follows : — As soon as we 
had selected a spot for our snow-house, our Esquimaux, 
assisted by one or more of the men, commenced cutting 
out blocks of snow. When a sufficient number of these 
had been raised, the builder commenced his work, his 
assistants supplying him with the material. A good 
roomy dwelling was thus raised in an hour, if the snow 
was in a good state for building. Whilst our principal 
mason was thus occupied, another of the party was busy 



392 SNOW HUTS ESQUIMAUX. Di847? 

erecting a kitchen, which, although our cooking was none 
of the most delicate or extensive, was still a necessary 
addition to our establishment, had it been only to thaw 
snow. As soon as the snow-hut was completed, our sledges 
were unloaded, and everything eatable (including parch- 
ment-skin and moose- skin shoes, which had now become 
favourite articles with the dogs) taken inside. Our bed 
was next made, and by the time the snow was thawed or 
the water boiled, as the case might be, we were all ready 
for supper. When we used alcohol for fuel (which we 
usually did in stormy weather), no kitchen was required." 

They sat rent-free, however, which no doubt reconciled 
them in some degree to their cold dwelling, which, besides 
being unheated by ought save the animal caloric of the 
inmates, was but dimly illuminated by a small window of 
clear ice placed in the roof. These truly primitive edifices 
were usually erected in a couple of hours, and are spoken 
of as being "very snug !" Be this as it may, the whole 
party spent the night in one of these snow-huts, and on 
the following morning emerged, like bees out of a huge 
white hive, to resume their toilsome journey. 

A little before noon they arrived at a snow-hut inhabited 
by two Esquimaux, one of whom, Kei-ik-too-oo, agreed to 
accompany them for a short way with his sledge, to help 
them over the isthmus. Some of the party were slightly 
affected with snow-blindness, a disease very common in 
arctic regions, especially in spring, when the intense 
brilliancy of the sun causes such a glare upon the white 
snow as to produce severe inflammation of the eyes. The 
Indians do not take any precautions to prevent snow-blind- 
ness, although they suffer very much from it; but the 
Esquimaux, who are every way more ingenious than their 
red neighbours, make wooden blinds or spectacles, which 
very effectually prevents this unpleasant malady. On the 7th 



l£JJ # L ] ROUGHNESS OF THE ROUTE. 333 

they reached the sea. The weather was dark and gloomy, 
though somewhat milder, the thermometer standing five 
degrees above zero. The coast was found to be so rough 
with broken ice, that the men and dogs had great difficulty 
in dragging the sledges over it ; and a stiff breeze, which 
dashed the snow-drift continually in their faces, prevented 
them from picking their way along the smoothest parts. 
One of the dogs also became so much exhausted as to be 
quite useless ; so it was unharnessed, and allowed to walk 
behind. Even this it was not able to do long, and at 
last it lay down. Eather than leave it to the mercy of the 
wolves, they shot it. At a small river, near which they 
encamped on the 9th, a number of loose stones were found, 
which enabled them to form a "cache" of provisions for 
the homeward journey. 

The coast varied much in appearance, being in some 
places low and flat, at other parts more elevated and 
broken. Several hills were also observed a few miles 
inland, one of which appeared to be fully five hundred 
feet high. The latitude was observed here, 67° 53' 24' , 
and the coast turned off to the westward, forming a point, 
which was named Cape Weynton. 

Thus they proceeded, sometimes making rapid progress, 
when the ice on the sea was smooth and the weather calm ; 
at other times struggling slowly against biting winds and 
driving snow, or stumbling over the broken ice along the 
shore. Dr. Rae frequently fell behind the party to take 
the bearings and observations, on which occasions he had 
considerable, difficulty sometimes in preventing his face 
and fingers from freezing. The scarcity of fuel anno}^ed 
them not a little. Their alcohol and oil ran so low at last, 
that it could not be used to cook the pemmican ; and for 
the purpose of economising it still further, they gave up 
using it to melt snow for water, and obtained this indis- 



394 NEW METHOD OP OBTAINING^ WATER. [Is*? 1 * 

pensable fluid by filling two small kettles and a bladder 
with snow, which they took to bed with them ! Strange 
bed-fellows, and somewhat unpleasant too, for on one occa- 
sion the fastening of the bladder came off, and the natural 
consequences followed. Severe work had now given the 
dogs such strong appetites, that they became perfectly 
ravenous, and although they received a fair allowance of 
provisions, devoured everything that came in their way — 
shoes, leather mitts, and even a worsted belt, was eaten, 
much to the chagrin of the owners, and the merriment of 
the others. The party usually supped on pemmican and 
cold water, as they could only afford one hot meal in the 
day, and preferred taking it in the morning. 

On the 12th, being informed by the Esquimaux that, 
by crossing over the land in a north-west direction, to a 
large bay which he had formerly visited, the way would 
be shortened considerably, it was resolved to do so; and 
accordingly, leaving the coast at latitude 68° 18' N., lon- 
gitude 88° 26' W., they struck across the land. Here the 
walking was found to be much more laborious, and the 
snow too soft to support the sledges, so that they were 
obliged to encamp an hour after noon on the borders of a 
small lake, as the dogs were quite knocked up. During 
the day they passed a small river, which was frozen to 
the bottom; but the ice on the lake was found to be only 
four feet eight inches thick, so that they cut through it, 
and enjoyed, for once, the luxury of drinking fresh water 
ad libitum. Ivitchuk drank with an intensity of zest that 
was of itself quite refreshing to behold. This part of the 
country was miserably barren. No signs of deer or musk- 
oxen were seen, the tracks of a few foxes alone indicating 
that the desolate spot was inhabited. 

For several days after this, the weather became ex- 
tremely stormy, and on the 14th it blew a complete storm 



\H] h ] STORMY WEATHER. 395 

all night ; nevertheless, Dr. Rae assures us that they were 
as comfortable in their snow-hive as if they had been 
lodged in the best house in England. Next day they 
reached the sea again, on the shores of a large bay upwards 
of twenty-three miles broad, which was named Pelly Bay, 
and encamped under the lee of a group of islands six miles 
from the shore. On the 16th the gale increased, with 
snow-drift from the north-west, so that it was impossible 
to advance. This did not much matter, however, as the 
doctor had intended to rest a day here to recruit the men 
and dogs, and at the same time to send out in search of 
the Esquimaux, whose tracks had been discovered in the 
neighbourhood, and from whom he hoped to procure some 
seals' flesh and blubber ; the first for food, and the latter 
for fuel. In this they were not successful, the drift being 
so thick that the men who were sent out could not see any 
distance. In the meantime Corrigal and Adamson had 
been collecting fuel, and Dr. Rae obtained an observation 
for latitude, which gave 68° 53' 44", from which he con- 
cluded that Sir John Ross's most southerly discoveries 
could not be distant more than two days' journey. 

It was now resolved that part of the men should be left 
here, while Dr. Rae should proceed the remainder of the 
way in company with two of the men. Flett and Corrigal 
were chosen for this service, being the strongest of the 
party, and the remainder were instructed to kill seals if 
they could; to trade with the natives, if they saw any; 
and, above all, to moderate their appetites to the lowest 
possible ebb, whether they could or not. Having made 
these arrangements, Dr. Rae and his men set off, and 
travelled briskly over the snow. 

Being lightly laden, they made good progress. A brisk 
walk of seventeen miles brought them, an hour before noon 
of the 1 7th, to the shore, near a high point formed of dark 



rApRii, 



396 REACHES LORD MAYOR S BAY. LaS47. 

gray granite, which was named Cape Berens ; and at 3 p.m. 
they came to two narrow points in a small bay, which 
were called the Twins, and between which they built their 
snow-hut for the night. 

The morning of the 18 th was fine, but hazy, with a light 
wind from the N.W., the thermometer 3° below zero, 
and the walking good, so that they soon traversed twelve 
miles of country, when they reached what proved to be the 
head of a deep inlet, whose western shores they had been 
tracing. It was named Halkett's Inlet. Two rein-deer 
were seen here. As there could be no doubt that they 
were now in the vicinity of Lord Mayor's Bay, they im- 
mediately struck across the land instead of following the 
coast. The walking proved to be very tiresome, however ; 
and after floundering three miles through the deep snow, 
Dr. Rae ordered his men to halt and prepare their night's 
lodgings, while he proceeded on alone to search for the 
coast. 

A walk of twenty minutes brought him to an inlet, not 
more than quarter of a mile wide, which he traced upwards 
of a league, when his course was again obstructed by land. 
There were some high rocks near at hand which he 
ascended, and from their summits thought he could discern 
rough ice in the desired direction. With renewed hopes, 
he slid down a declivity, plunged among snow, scrambled 
over rocks and through rough ice, until he gained a rising 
ground close to the sea-shore, from whose summit he beheld 
Lord Mayor's Bay stretching out before him far as the eye 
could reach, clothed with ice and studded with innumerable 
islands. These were the islands named the sons of the 
clergy of the Church of Scotland by Sir John Ross, to 
whose discoveries Dr. Rae had now joined his own ; thus 
completing a link which had long been wanting in the 
chain of arctic geography, and going far to settle the 



"l84?] TAKE POSSESSION OF THE LAND AND RETURN. 397 

disputed point as to whether Boothia Felix is an island or a 
peninsula. There is still, however, a doubt hanging over 
this question. In his journey northward, Dr. Rae tells us 
that he was on the eve of making a survey of Pelly Bay, 
when he was informed by one of the natives that a com- 
plete view of its shores could be obtained from the island 
on which they were encamped. He accordingly ascended 
to the highest point, the evening being beautifully clear, 
and " obtained a distinct view of the whole bay, except a 
small portion immediately under the sun." Dr. Rae does 
not appear to have entertained a doubt of this being a 
more distant part of the coast line ; yet it is possible that 
this portion of the supposed bay may be a narrow strait, 
which perhaps communicates with the large bay seen by 
Messrs. Dease and Simpson from their farthest point of 
discovery, and from which it cannot be distant more than 
a hundred miles. 

Having taken possession of his discoveries, Dr. Rae and 
his men returned to the companions they had left behind, 
whom they found in a fat and flourishing condition. They 
had taken advantage of the doctor's absence to supply 
themselves more largely from the pemmican bags than 
was at all necessary or expedient. Fortunately, however, 
a quantity of seals' flesh, blood, and blubber, was obtained 
from a party of Esquimaux whom they encountered during 
their march; and being thus reinforced, it was resolved to 
trace the shores of the peninsula across which they had 
formerly cut in their anxiety to reach Lord Mayor's Bay. 
This object was successfully accomplished after a severe 
walk, when they experienced the usual alternations from 
heat to cold, and storm to calm, in which the weather in 
these hyperborean climes seems to take such peculiar de- 
light. The increasing power of the sun, too, rendered 
walking so difficult arid painful during the day that they 



398 RETURN TO FORT HOPE. 



Mat 



were fain to reverse the ordinary course of things, and 
travel during the night, devoting the day to rest. 

It was now approaching the end of April; and as it was 
desirable, if possible, to survey the shores of the Akkoolee 
(named by Dr. Rae Committee) Bay, before the breaking 
up of the ice, no time was lost in retracing their route to 
the fort at Repulse Bay. All the caches of provisions 
which had been made during the outward journey were 
found quite safe, and thus afforded them a plentiful supply 
of food. On the morning of the 5th of May they reached 
some Esquimaux dwellings on the shores of Christie's Lake, 
about fifteen miles from Fort Hope. " At 2 p.m. on the 
same day," says Rae, " we were again on the march, and 
arrived at our home at half-past 8 p.m., all well, but so 
black and scarred on the face from the combined effects of 
oil, smoke, and frost bites, that our friends would not 
believe but that some serious accident from the explosion 
of gunpowder had happened to us. Thus successfully 
terminated a journey little short of six hundred English 
miles, the longest, I believe, ever made on foot along the 
arctic coast.'' 

During the absence of the exploring party, things had 
gone on prosperously at winter quarters. Provisions, 
although not superabundant, had been procured in sufficient 
quantities to prevent the necessity of breaking upon the 
pemmican, which they were so anxious to preserve for 
travelling fare. Once, indeed, after consuming all they 
had in store, and scouring the neighbourhood fruitlessly 
in search of game, they were obliged to have a dinner of 
tongues ; but soon afterwards the deer became more numer- 
ous, the hunters more successful ; and, during the remain- 
der of their stay at Fort Hope, they never wanted fresh 
provisions. At the time of Dr. Rae's return with the ex- 
ploring party, the meat store was well filled. This was a 



J^7.] PREPAEATIONS FOR ANOTHER JOURNEY. 399 

happy circumstance, as they arrived as ravenous as wolves. 
The short but hearty congratulations over, they made a 
vigorous assault on the venison, and ate, according to their 
own confession, a great deal more than would have been 
good for them had the food been other than venison; as 
it was, however, they gormandized with impunity. 

Several families of Esquimaux had taken up their resi- 
dence about a quarter of a mile from the fort. Here they 
erected a city of snow, and occupied themselves in paying 
visits to the white men, when not engaged in killing seals 
or trapping deer. The way in which they approach seals 
is somewhat amusing. The hunter lays himself flat on his 
face upon the ice, and, by a series of motions, resembling 
those of the unsuspecting animal that sits enjoying the 
winter sun beside its ice-hole, approaches it with such seal- 
like grace that the animal is actually deceived into the 
belief that a friend desires his company, and, with commend- 
able politeness, approaches to meet him. When near enough, 
the deceiver jumps to his feet, and the deceived bolts for 
his hole, but is generally intercepted and slain. The 
women are said to be particularly aufait at this work, and 
on such occasions arm themselves with a stout club with 
which to knock the seals on the nose. Deer were taken by 
the natives in pits dug in the snow, over which a thin cake 
of snow was spread ; over this the deer walked, and were 
precipitated to the bottom of the hole. Wolves were also 
taken in this way. 

Having recruited themselves at Fort Hope for some days, 
preparations were now made for another journey along the 
western shore of Melville Peninsula as far as the Straits of 
the Fury and Hecla. On this occasion Dr. Rae was accom- 
panied by four of his men, who each carried a load of 70 
lbs. weight, while the doctor himself carried his books, 
instruments, &c, which weighed altogether about 40 lbs. 



400 FROM BAD TO WORSE. [{J*J 

Some of the party who were to remain behind, accompanied 
them to the shores of the bay, which they reached on the 
16th of May, and then, bidding adieu to their comrades, 
commenced their journey. 

Bad as the walking had been in their former expedition, 
it was nothing to what they experienced now. As soon as 
they had rounded a cape, designated Cape Thomas Simpson, 
after the distinguished arctic traveller of that name, the 
land turned to the eastward, and the walking became 
shockingly disagreeable. The whole shore was indented 
with deep, narrow inlets, which were so packed with rough 
and jagged masses of ice, that it cost the travellers many a 
deep sigh and ludicrous scramble. " At one moment," 
writes the energetic leader of the band, " we sank nearly 
waist-deep in snow, at another we were up to our knees in 
salt water, and then again on a piece of ice so slippery, 
that, with our wet and frozen shoes, it was impossible to 
keep from falling. Sometimes we had to crawl out of a 
hole on all fours like some strange-looking quadrupeds ; at 
other times falling backwards, we were so hampered by 
the weight of our loads, that it was impossible to rise with- 
out throwing them off, or being assisted by one of our 
companions. We therefore found it better to follow the 
shores of the inlets than to cross them, although by so 
doing we had double the distance to go over." 

At half-past three in the morning they encamped for 
the night! if we may be allowed the somewhat paradoxical 
expression. As usual, they constructed a snow-hut to sleep 
in, and another in which to cook their food. The walking 
became so bad, however, that they were ultimately obliged 
to curb their appetites, as, had they lived on full allowance, 
there would not have been enough food left for the return 
journey; and as comparatively few tracks of animals were 
seen, it was resolved on the 21st of May to content them- 



}^7.] DR - RAE SHOOTS A DEER. 401 

selves in future with one meal per day, and that not over- 
abundant. Truly we cannot but admire the resolution of 
these iron-built men. It is bad enough to walk through 
and over slush, snow, ice, gravel, and rocks, on one's head, 
knees, neck, and shoulders (for these parts, from continual 
falls, seem to have come in contact with the ice very nearly 
as much as did their feet), with a full allowance of good 
provisions; but to be under the necessity of doing this 
with empty stomachs, is so bad, that we can find no term 
by which to characterize it! To add to their discomforts, 
the weather, during the greater part of the journey, was 
stormy, and heavy showers of snow fell continually, which 
rendered the walking, if possible, still more difficult. 
Still, there were occasional gleams of sunshine, which 
enabled the doctor to find his latitude and longitude, and 
cast a pleasant glow across their desolate track; creat- 
ing also a sympathetic gleam of sunshine in their hearts. 
Among other pleasant things, too, there was one which 
caused a sunny ray of hope to warm their empty stomachs, 
and cause their longing mouths to water: this was the 
shooting of a fine buck, which, fortunately for them, and 
unfortunately for itself, crossed their path early on the 
morning of the 22d. Their first shot only wounded him, 
and he led them so long a chase that they were on the 
point of giving it up in despair, when Dr. Rae raised his 
rifle, and although far out of ordinary range, succeeded in 
sending a ball through its head. This proved a seasonable 
supply, and served to strengthen them greatly. Fuel was 
very scarce during the whole journey, and they were fre- 
quently under the necessity of taking their old friends — 
the kettles of snow — to bed with them, in order to save as 
much as possible their small supply of alcohol. 

The general features of the coast along which they 
travelled were rough and varied; being in some places 
2c 



402 PROVISIONS FAIL OBLIGED TO RETURN. [}J*£ 

quite level, and consisting of mud, shingle, and fragments 
of limestone; in other parts rising into bold rocky capes 
and headlands, and receding into deep bays and inlets, 
which were all more or less studded with rocky islands. 
As they advanced northwards, this became a more prominent 
feature in the landscape; the islands becoming so numerous 
at times, both in the bays and out to seaward, as to cause 
them some trouble in following the proper route. A few 
miles beyond Cape W. Mactavish, a large island of table- 
land was seen without a single rock in situ upon it. ' It is 
in latitude 67° 42' 22" N., and longitude 86° 30' W.; 
\he strait that separated it from the mainland being not 
more than a mile and a half wide. It was named after 
his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. A few miles 
north of this they came to a bay, on the north shore of 
which were two strangely- shaped rocks of granite, which 
had the appearance of an old ruin or portion of a fortress, 
of a square form, and each of about twenty-five feet high. 
On the 25 th they reached a bay, to which was given the 
name of Garry, after one of the Hudson's Bay Company's 
directors. It was the most curiously- shaped and irregular 
in outline of any that had been seen, and was crowded with 
islands. Five miles inland was a range of hills varying 
from five to eight hundred feet high. The latitude here 
was 68° 59' 15" N., and longitude 84° 48' W. 

At this point the provisions began to fail, a circumstance 
all the more to be regretted that a day or two would have 
brought them to the Straits of the Fury and Hecla. 

On the 25th Dr. Rae had left two of his men behind, for 
the purpose of procuring some venison, while he and the 
other two advanced with a small stock of provisions. As 
this was now nearly finished, they could only advance half 
a night farther ; so, leaving another of the men behind, the 
doctor pressed forward with the remaining one, and found 



ls£ 7 B ] CONCLUSION OF THE SURVEY. 403 

himself, on the morning of the 28th of May, on the south 
shore of a large bay, from which he obtained a distinct view 
of the coast for about twelve miles. To the most distant 
visible point was given the name of Cape Ellice, after one 
of the directors of the company. It lies in latitude 69° 
42' K, longitude 85° 8' W. The bay was named after 
the celebrated Sir Edward Parry, and the headland on 
which they stood was called Cape Crozier. From Cape 
Ellice the Straits of the Fury and Hecla could not be dis- 
tant more than ten miles ; but from want of provisions, it 
was impossible to proceed; so Dr. Rae and his man took 
formal possession of their discoveries, and, once more, 
turned their faces homeward. 

Thus terminated the discoveries of 1846-47, which have 
left but a few links of the chain incomplete. The few miles 
yet unsurveyed between Cape Ellice and the Straits of the 
Fury and Hecla, are scarcely worth speaking of as un- 
known ground; since, from the nature of the coast, and the 
immense extent of the neighbouring sea, there can be no 
doubt that they consist of a line of coast similar to that 
already traversed by Dr. Rae. The only portion of the 
North American coast that now remains to be surveyed is 
that which lies between Rae's farthest western, and Simp- 
son's farthest eastern discoveries, comprehending a space 
of about one hundred miles ; which, though not great in 
extent, has occasioned more dispute perhaps than any 
other part of the coast ; as, within this terra incognita lies, 
either the isthmus which connects, or the strait which flows 
between, Boothia Felix and the mainland. 

During the homeward journey nothing of particular in- 
terest occurred. It was but a repetition of the same rough 
walking, snow-hut building, neck- or- nothing scrambling, 
and short commons, that had characterized their advance 
northward; with, now and then, an incident, chiefly of a 



404 SEVERITY OF THE JOUKNEY. [ "Jjj^ 

ludicrous kind, which served to enliven the way. On one 
occasion their snow-house, owing to the increasing power 
of the sun, gave way, and proved its evanescent character 
by tumbling down about their ears ; and a few days after- 
wards the same melancholy instance of decay took place 
while they were sitting at supper. Dr. Rae speaks of this 
journey as being the most fatiguing he had ever undergone. 
He had often walked on snow shoes, with a day's provisions, 
axe, and blanket, on his back, forty, fifty, and on one 
occasion sixty-five miles; but this out-did all his former 
experience. This, doubtless, was as much owing to the 
want of food as anything else; for he speaks of his belt 
coming in six inches during the journey! The whole 
party, however, seem to have enjoyed wonderfully good 
spirits in the midst of these hardships, and the only 
time they were fairly floored, and induced to grumble 
at their fate, was when they ran short of tobacco, and had 
to retire to rest after the day's toil without the comfort of 
a soothing pipe. 

On the 9th of June the travellers once more arrived at 
Fort Hope. Here everything was found in a prosperous 
condition. The stores were loaded with venison, the house, 
though somewhat damaged in consequence of the immense 
weight of snow which had accumulated on its roof in spite 
of all efforts made to prevent it, was still in good repair; 
and the weather began to give indubitable indications of 
the speedy departure of aged winter, and the hilarious 
advent of youthful spring. 

In narrating the progress of events in these regions of 
our world, we feel that it is necessary occasionally to check 
the imaginations of those readers who, having passed their 
days in the sunny regions of the south, or in the more 
equable climates of the temperate zones, will naturally 
form erroneous conceptions of things, if not sometimes 



Jtr 
1847 



■ ] INDICATIONS OF SPRING. 405 



reminded of the peculiarities of the seasons in the icy north ; 
and it may not be out of place here to state, that the indi- 
cations of approaching spring, of which we have made 
mention, were not the chirping of birds among the budding 
trees, or the trickling of rills among the green meadows. 
It was June, and well might the incautious reader imagine 
such things ; but we have already said it is necessary to 
check this erroneous tendency of the imagination. The 
wide sea still presented its cold, solid surface of ice, in pro- 
tracted defiance of the sun. Snow covered the landscape, 
and hung in masses on the drooping willows. Water, 
except in the profound depths of the laboriously excavated 
waterbole, was unknown; and all around, above, below, 
was winter — cold, obdurate, adamantine winter! The only 
signs of the approach of spring were the increasing power 
of the sun, and consequent warmth of the atmosphere, and 
softening of the surface of the snow ; the occasional falling 
of a drop of water from an icicle — an event full of interest 
to those who know how painfully long an icicle retains a 
dry point in these climes ; the apparition of an adventurous 
sand-piper, and the cackle of a solitary laughing- goose. 

These and similar occurrences increased and became 
more frequent every day, though it was long ere a spot of 
verdant green refreshed their eyes, and brought to remem- 
brance other lands and bygone days. Dr. Rae mentions 
in his journal, that on the 21st of June the ice on the lakes 
was still four feet thick, though very porous and unsafe. 

On the 13th, divine service was read, and thanks 
returned to God for His protection throughout the winter, 
and during the late journey. 

During the latter part of this month the weather was 
exceedingly stormy and variable, but the destruction of 
winter's power continued to progress rapidly, and they 
finally deserted their dwelling, which had become disa- 



406 HONESTY OF THE NATIVES. [JJj? 

greeable from the thawing and consequent dampness of the 
clay, of which it was chiefly formed, for the less substantial 
but more agreeable habitation of a tent. Esquimaux con- 
tinued to visit and trade with them from time to time, sup- 
plying them with seal- skin boots, and other articles of 
savage clothing. It is recorded to the honour of these 
poor creatures, that they were not guilty of stealing during 
all the transactions they had with the party — a vice which 
characterizes, more or less, all the other tribes on the 
North American coast. One incorrigible rascal, however, 
annoyed them by his depredations. This was Ooligbuck's 
son, who not only appropriated all the tobacco belonging to 
the men on which he could lay hands, but cleared off all 
the buttons from their trousers, and consummated his 
wickedness by twice opening his father's bale and eating 
the old man's sugar. 

On the 23d the sun was seen at midnight, his lower 
limb touching the high grounds to the northward; but the 
weather still continued cold, notwithstanding the advanced 
state of the season, and it was not till the end of July that 
the ice on the bay began to give way before the gushing 
torrents that issued from the swollen current of North Pole 
River. Out at sea it looked firm and white as ever. 

The 25th of July was the anniversary of their arrival at 
Repulse Bay, which appeared in a very different garb at 
that time. Dr. Rae remarks, that " last summer at this 
date there was no ice to be seen in Repulse Bay ; the snow 
had nearly all disappeared, and the various streams had 
shrunk to their lowest level. Now there was not a pool of 
water in the bay, except where the entrance of a river or 
creek had worn away or broken up the ice for a short dis- 
tance. There was much snow on the ground in many 
places, and most of the streams were still deep and rapid." 

To add to this incongruous jumble of summer and winter, 



i&S] BOULDER- STONES ON THE ICE. 407 

heat and cold, the mosquitoes made their appearance; 
" but this," says Rae, " I was not sorry for, as the Esqui- 
maux said that the ice in the hay would soon break up 
after these tormentors made their appearance.' ' 

About this time Dr. Rae observed that a number of 
large boulder- stones made their appearance on the top of 
the ice in the bay. " I was much puzzled," says he, "to 
make out how they came there. They could not have 
fallen from the shore, as the beach was sloping at the 
place, nor had they been carried in by drift ice of the pre- 
vious season. The only way that I could account for it 
was this : At the commencement of winter, the ice, after 
acquiring considerable thickness, had become frozen to the 
stones lying on the bottom, and raised them up when the 
tide came in. The stones would get gradually enclosed in 
the ice, as it grew thicker by repeated freezings, whilst by 
the process of evaporation, which goes on very rapidly in 
spring, the upper surface was continually wasting away, so 
that in June or July there was little of the first formed ice 
remaining; and thus the stones, which at first were on the 
under surface of the ice, appeared on the top. This may 
perhaps in some measure account for boulders, sand, shells, 
&c. being sometimes found where geologists fancy they 
ought not to be." 

A severe storm arose on the 10th of August, accompa- 
nied by rain and snow. It had the happy effect of creating 
great havoc among the ice in the bay, which, when it 
abated, presented a clear sea as far as the point. All was 
now bustle and preparation for sea. The boats were over- 
hauled and got ready; one of the anchors and chain were 
missed, and at last it was recollected that they had been 
placed on a spot of ground which, at an earlier period of 
the previous year, was exposed to view, but was now buried 
under a mass of ice eight feet thick! Out of this tomb it 



408 FAREWELL TO FORT HOPE. [^ 

was speedily dug, and removed to the boat. The natives 
crowded round them at seeing these vigorous preparations 
for departure, and Dr. Rae, in the fulness of his heart, 
began to distribute among them all the files, knives, and 
axes that could be conveniently spared. The weather con- 
tinued to improve rapidly. Nibitabo was despatched to 
procure venison for the voyage, and succeeded in shooting 
two young deer, while St. Germain and Mineau set the 
nets for a supply of salmon; and, on the 12th of August, 
all being got ready, the boats were launched, and the party 
floated once more on the salt sea. Dr. Rae was about to 
distribute among the Esquimaux their spare kettles and 
some hoop iron, before taking final leave of them, when it 
was discovered that one of the boat's compasses was miss- 
ing. Search was made, but no compass was to be found. 
At last it was discovered under some heather, where it had 
been concealed by one of the women. The farewell gifts 
were then distributed, and some of the men appeared to be 
really sorry at parting, wading into the water to shake 
hands with the doctor as the boat moved slowly from the 
shore. 

A light air of N.E. wind carried them slowly from the 
desolate scene of their recent home; and, leaving Repulse 
Bay to the swarthy hunters of the walrus and the seal, 
they shaped their course for York Fort, at which place 
they arrived on the 6th of September 1847, having been 
absent nearly fifteen months in the dark and stormy regions 
of the north. 

The northern coasts of America were not again visited 
from the landward side until the year 1848, when the 
increasing anxiety regarding the fate of the gallant 
veteran, Sir John Franklin, induced Government to 
despatch an overland searching expedition under the 



1848, '49, '50.] THE LAST LAND EXPEDITION. 409 

command of Sir John Richardson. Dr. Rae was chosen 
as a fitting companion to the well-known colleague of 
Franklin in his former voyages ; and in March 1848 they 
sailed from Liverpool, and proceeded through the United 
States and Canada to the scene of their operations at the 
mouth of the Mackenzie. As the ground over which they 
travelled, however, is the same with that explored by 
former discoverers, the details of whose exploits have been 
already recounted in this volume, it is not necessary to do 
more than say that, during the years 1848, '49, and '50, 
Drs. Richardson and Rae made a minute but unsuccess- 
ful search for the missing ships along the various parts 
of the arctic coast, where it was considered probable they 
might have been wrecked. A short account of these jour- 
neys, along with a concise and graphic description of the 
various searching expeditions sent out from time to time, 
will be found in " Polar Seas and Regions." 

The little spot of unknown territory which has already 
cost the British nation so much, is soon to be surveyed, we 
understand, by Dr. Rae, whose fitness for the object has 
been amply attested by his energetic and successful explo- 
rations in 1846. Should he be successful, a question of 
considerable importance will be finally settled, and the 
narrative of his travels and exploits in the regions of per- 
petual ice and snow will form another chapter in the 
interesting annals of arctic story. 



THE END. 



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ANGUAGE, POETRY, AND SENTIMENT OF FLOWERS. 48mo, cloth, 
1 extra gilt, with beautiful Illuminated Frontispiece and Vignette, Is. 6d. 



T. NELSON AND SONS, LONDON AND EDINBURGH. 13 

THE ROYAL JUVENILE LIBRARY, 

Cloth plain, price 2s. 6d. Gilt leaves, 3s, 

SPLENDIDLY ILLUSTRATED. 

HE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON. With Eight Engravings from Designs 
Dickes, Gilbert, ifcc. 

ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. With Eight Engravings from 
Designs by Gilbert. 

THE HAPPY HOLIDAYS. With Eight Engravings from Designs by B. 
Foster. 

HISTORY OF SANDFORD AND MERTON. With Eight Engravings from 
Designs by Gilbrrt and Foster. 



THE ! 
by 



NEW SERIES OF VOLUMES FOR THE YOUNG. 

Foolscap 8vo, Large Type. 

SUMMER DAYS; or, The Cousins. With beautiful Frontispiece and 
Vignette. Cloth, price Is. 6d. Gilt leaves, 2s. 

TTOME PRINCIPLES IN BOYHOOD. With beautiful Frontispiece and 



Vignette. Cloth, price Is. Cd. Gilt leaves, 2s. 

ROLD AND LEWIS, AND OTHER STORIES. 

piece and Vignette. Cloth, price Is. 6d. Gilt leaves, 2s. 



TTAROLD AND LEWIS, AND OTHER STORIES. With beautiful Frontis- 



THE CHILDREN AND THE ROBIN, AND OTHER STORIES. With 
beautiful Frontispiece and Vignette. Cloth, price Is. 6d. Gilt leaves, 2s- 

STORY OF THE MORETON FAMILY. With elegant Frontispiece and 
Vignette, cloth, price Is. 6d. Gilt leaves, 2s. 

PEBBLES FROM THE SEA-SHORE. With elegant Frontispiece and 
Vignette, cloth, price Is. 6d. Gilt leaves, 2s. 

RIVERBANK; or, The Clifford Family. With elegant Frontispiece and 
Vignette. Cloth, price Is. 6d. Gilt leaves, 2s. 



THE HOLIDAY GIFT FOR BOYS— consisting of Five Volumes of Stories 
in i 



a Handsome Case, price Is. 6d. 

HE HOLIDAY GIFT FOR GIRLS-consisting of Five Volumes of Stories 
a Handsome Case, price Is. 6d. 



The: 
In 



14 T. NELSON AND SONS, LONDON AND EDINBURGH. 

BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. 

13mo. With Fine Frontispieces and Vignettes. 

THE GREAT SECRET; or, How to be Happy. Neatly bound in cloth, 
price Is. Giit leaves, Is. Gd. 

THE COUSINS ; or, Love One Another. Neatly bound in cloth, price Is. 
Gilt leaves, Is. 6d. 

ALLEN LUCAS; or, Youthful Decision. Neatly bound iu cloth, price Is. 
Gi.t leaves, Is. Gd. 

CHARLES LINN ; or, How to Observe the Golden Rule. Neatly bound in 
cloth, price Is. Gilt leaves, Is. Gd. 

rVUE GOLDEN RULE; or, Do to Others as you would have Others do to 
J- You. Neatly bound in cloth, price Is. Gilt leaves, Is. Gd. 

THE BASKET OF FLOWERS; or, Piety and Truth Triumphant. Neatly 
bound in cloth, price Is. Gilt leaves, Is. Cd. 

LITTLE ROBINSON OF PARIS ; or, The Triumph of Industry. By Lucr 
Landon. Neatly bound iu cloth, price Is. Gilt leaves, Is. Gd. 

rrilE STORY BOOK OF WONDERS IN NATURE AND ART. By Mas. 
J- Sukrwoud. Neatly bound in cloth, price Is. Gilt leaves, Is. Gd. 

rrilE BOY'S OWN BOOK OF STORIES FROM HISTORY. Neatly bound 
■*■ in cloth, price Is. Gilt leaves, Is. Gd. 

THE TRIAL OF SKILL; or, Which is the Best Story? Neatly bound in 
cloth, price Is. Gilt leaves, Is. Gd. 

TALES FOR THE YOUNG. By Miss Embury. Neatly bound in cloth, 
price Is. Gilt leaves, Is. Gd. 

ANNALS OF THE rOOR. By Lkgii Richmond. Neatly bound in cloth, 
price Is. Gilt leaves, Is. Gd. 

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATED. With Introduction by Todd. Neatly 
bound in cloth, price Is. Gilt leaves, Is. Gd. 



SABBATH LIBRARY FOR LITTLE READERS. 

Price Sixpence each, with beautiful gilt cover. 



Life of Daniel. By Mrs. Hooker. 
Lite of David. By Mrs. Hooker. 
Todd's Lectures to Children. 



Anecdotes oi tlie Bible. 
The Dairyman's Daughter. 
The Negro Servant. 



T. NELSON AND SONS, LONDON AND EDINBURGH. 



15 



HOME LIBRARY FOR LITTLE READERS. 

Price 6d. each, with beautiful gilt cover. Cr 9d. each, 
fancy cloth, gilt leaves. 

but Sunshine and Shade; or, The Den- 



Jessie Graham ; or, Friends Dear 

Truth Dearer. 
Blind Alice; or, Do Right, if you 

wish to be Happy. 
Grace and Clara ; or, Be Just as well 

as Generous. 
Florence Arnot; or, Is She Generous? 
Ellen Leslie; or, The Reward of Self- 

Control. 
Stories for Little Readers. Adorned 

with Pictures. First Series. 
Stories for Little Readers. Adorned 

with Pictures. Second Series. 
Love Token for Children. 
A Kiss for a Blow ; or, Stones of Love 

and Kindness in the Young. 
Little Clara. 
Harry Burne. 



ham Family. 
Sister Mary's Stories. 
Story of the Walter Family. 
The Mother's Story, &c 
The Well Spent Hour. 
Ellen Carrol. 
Cousin Clara. 
Mary Ross. 

The Little Poetry Book. 
The Faithful Dog, &c 
The Play Hour, &c, 
James Thornton. 
Harry Sanford. 
Wild Flowei'S- 
Harry Edwards. 

Stories for the Young. First Series. 
Stories for the Young. Second Series. 



SABBATH STORIES FOR LITTLE READERS. 

Price One Earthing each. 



Harriet and Edward, &c. 
The Almond Blossom, &c. 
James Simpson, &c. 



The Golden Key. 
The Way to be Happy 
Story of Theodore. 
And a variety oi others. 
Price One Halfpenny each. 

Little Charles. The Kind Little Boy, <fcc 

The Broken Flower. Edith and Charles, £c. 

Sarah Williams. Stories on the Lord's Prayer. 

And a variety of others. 
Price One Penny each. 



The Children and the Dove. 
Little Frank and his Letter. 
Sailor Boy and his Bible. 



Robert, Margaret, and Maria, 

Robert Ellis. 

Honesty the Best Policy. 



Who Direct3 our Steps? 

The Lark's Nest 

Lucy Roberts. 
And a variety of others. 
Price Twopence each. 

The Morning Walk, &c 

The Holidays; or, A Visit Home. 

Jane Scott. 



And a variety of others. 



16 T. NELSON AND SONS, LONDON AND EDINBURGH. 

SABBATH STORIES FOR LITTLE READERS. 

Price Threepence each. 

With Frontispiece and Picture Cover. 
The Arthur Family. Mary Evans. 

The Little Fabulists. Alfred Somerville. 

And a variety of others. 

Price Fourpence each. 

With Frontispiece and Beautiful Gilt Cover. 



Sarah and Laura. 
Kose and Louisa. 
Robert and Emily. 



WiUiam Bartlett 
Ellen Morrison. 
Alfred Singleton. 



And a variety of others. 



Price Sixpence each. 

With Frontispiece and Beautiful Gilt Cover 
Helen Maurice. Ellen Hart. 

The Henderson Family. | Helen and her Cousin. 

And a variety of others. 



Just Ready, a series of beautiful 

PICTURE REWARD CARDS, 

Each containing a Hymn and a neat Engraving. 

Piice 2d., 3d., 4d., and 6<L per dozen. 



U 1 



NEW PICTURE BOOKS FOR GHILDREN. 

■NCLE TOM'S PICTURE BOOK. In verse. Dedicated, by permission, to 
Her Grace the Duchess of Sutherland. Small Quarto, price Cd. 

A most pleasing and happy adaptation of the leading incidents in Mrs. Stowe's interesting 
work to the understanding and tastes of the youngest readers. It is admirably flitted to prove 
a favourite in the nursery library, and no higher recommendation can be needed for it than 
this, that the poems which constitute its chief features are from the pen of the gifted poetess, 
Kiss Frances Browne. 

SIMPLE HANS, AND OTHER FUNNY PICTURES AND STORIES. 
Numerous Engravings. Small Quarto, price 6d. 

This is one of the most humorous books ever published for the nursery, while at the same 
time it is still more calculated for instruction and amusement, and cannot fail to benefit, 
while it delights its young readers. The numerous lively illustrations are designed with a 
special view to the tastes of ohildren; and while they are full of spirit, they are just such as 
a clever child might be supposed to execute. 






